Technical Consumer Goods (TCG) are living a good phase all over the world. According to GfK, at a the global level, the market exceeded the one-trillion mark for the first time in 2018 with sales of 1.01 trillion euro, that means a growth of 4% compared with the previous year. The product segments of telecommunications (+7 percent), small domestic appliances (+7 percent), consumer electronics/photo (+6 percent), and information technology/office equipment (+1 percent) all contributed to this increase in sales. Global sales from major domestic appliances, on the other hand, fell slightly by one percent.
For 2019, GfK is expecting a two percent increase in technical consumer goods sales on the global market to around 1.03 trillion euro.
Analyzing the single geographical regions, GfK reports that the major share is still that of Asia-Pacific, with 42 percent of the total sales. Europe follows with a 25 percent, while around 20 percent was recorded in North America, seven percent in Latin America, and six percent in Middle East/Turkey/Africa. «Globally, technical consumer goods – commented Markus Kick, GfK expert on technical consumer goods – achieved sales of more than 1 trillion euro for the first time in 2018. This is a real milestone for trade and industry. The areas of telecommunications, small domestic appliances and consumer electronics proved to be the biggest drivers of sales. We are seeing a trend toward premium products in almost all segments. Consumers are also placing ever more value on connectivity and convenience. Based on this trend, GfK is also expecting solid sales growth in 2019 with an increase of two percent.»
Regarding ma Major Domestic Appliances, sales are expected to increase again in 2019 after slight dip. This continued to be the second-largest segment among technical consumer goods in 2018 with sales of around 177 billion euro, despite a slight decrease in sales of one percent. Overall, around 17 percent of all TCG sales last year was attributed to major domestic appliances such as refrigerators, ovens, washers or dishwashers. Currently trending are multi-function devices and connectivity – the possibility to network devices with one another or control them using a different device.
