IFA, gfu and GfK have inaugurated IFA 2020 Special Edition, an edition that is both physical and digital. Under the slogan, “technology is back”, IFA, gfu and GfK have opened the IFA 2020 Special Edition expressing their confidence in the technology industry, ready to recover from the disruptions and economic uncertainties associated with the pandemic.
An edition, that of this year, both physical and digital: the IFA Xtended Space platform has been added to the traditional appointments, created specifically to allow people to follow the important appointment remotely. Jens Heithecker, IFA Berlin Executive Director, stressed the symbolic significance of this year’s Berlin appointment: «When it comes to doing business, nothing is better than personal relationships. This is why having IFA 2020 as an event in real life is an important sign. It is a symbol to show that together we can look beyond the pandemic and its aftermath. There is a normality ahead, and now it is up to the industry, retailers, media and consumers to build and shape the “normal” that it will emerge.»
«Due to the Covid-19 pandemic – emphasizes Kai Hillebrandt, chairman of the supervisory board of gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH, organizer of IFA – IFA should be organized as a small event, but we can already see that this year special edition is set to be a success. Together with our partner Messe Berlin we have built a digital platform that offers both virtual experiences and meaningful real-life ones. The numerous new products presentations here at IFA will give important impetus to the market precisely when it is most needed, in the period preceding the moment with the highest turnover in the global consumer electronics and household appliances sector.»
Peter Feld, CEO of GfK presented the new “gfknewron” business platform, designed to help the industry make the right business decisions: «We live in a world of disruption, acceleration and data overload. This is why companies need to be able to identify the right signal from noise – faster than ever – and also why we radically transformed GfK to become a technology company. “gfknewron” is GfK’s proprietary AI-based software platform, which provides quick and actionable advice based on reliable data.»
GfK and gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH provided information on how the global consumer electronics and home appliances market developed during the first half of 2020. The data showed that the value of the global consumer electronics market (TCG), excluding North America and South Africa, fell to 306 billion euro during retail closures due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
GfK’s panel market recorded a 5.8% decline for global TCG sales for the first half of 2020 (H1 2020). However, compared to other sectors, this was a relatively small decline as this market benefited from the opportunity to meet “internal” needs and a trend towards digitization during the lockdown.
