Last year, Black Friday took place for the first time influenced by the pandemic and, according to GfK data, sales were made for 53 percent on the online channel, surpassing brick-and-mortar purchases for the first time ever. In 2021, both consumers and retailers needed to refocus, but despite numerous obstacles to this year’s shopping season, GfK is forecasting a positive bottom line overall for the Technical Consumer Goods market in 2021.
«After a turbulent 2020 – GfK experts commented – the global economy is on its way back to pre-pandemic levels. Nevertheless, this will not be reflected one-to-one in sales because technical consumer goods are once again competing with sectors such as travel or fashion this year. This is compounded by the current instability of supply chains and the resulting unusual price developments that are passed on to the end consumer».
Regarding home appliances, that throughout the pandemic saw a great growth, for 2021 a particularly high demand is expected for appliances with increasing market penetration, such as fully automatic espresso machines with +33 percent or food processors with +4 percent from January to September 2021.
«Consumers already had high demand for luxury technical products to enhance their home environment during the 2020 lockdown. As a GfK study confirms, sales of big screen TVs (70+ inch) increased by 64 percent from January to September 2021, while those of smaller TVs stagnated. Smart home appliances are also expected to increase. Black Friday and other shopping events could be highly incentivizing consumers as they remain willing to invest in their own homes, but with promotions on premium products, they can consider saving money in absolute terms» – Gfk experts added.
