Knowledge Centre

Although on 21 - 23 April 2010 World Retail Congress will be the only place to be, we recognise that the event only happens once a year.  We have therefore provided you with a Knowledge Centre, featuring the very latest retail information supplied courtesy of the industry's leading information providers - Retail Week, Drapers and WGSN.

GfK's Global Director for Consumer Electronics Juergen Boyny explains what we can expect from the European market this year

What is your verdict on 2009?

The development of the European Consumer Electronic Market in 2009 has unquestionably been a negative one, with the market down -10% in Euro terms compared to 2008. The reasons behind this development can be explained as a mosaic of different pieces.

On the one hand there is of course the financial crisis. In several European countries unemployment has drastically increased (Spain for example is currently experiencing an unemployment rate of 20%).

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UK Internet Purchases of Household and Technology Products Reaches 18%

According to the latest GfK Retail and Technology figures, internet sales of consumer durable goods over the Christmas period in the UK reached 18%, the highest ever recorded total.   The internet channel comprises both Pure Player and Click & Mortar retailers and this record market share was equal to consumer expenditure worth nearly £900 million.

It is apparent that consumers are now fully confident using the internet as a channel for making their household and technology purchases, there is higher confidence in security and the ease of purchase has made this a hugely successful channel in 2009.  Consumer’s appetite for online shopping saw the sales of some categories rocket; GfK recorded one quarter of all Digital Cameras sold in December being done so online.

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After years of steady growth, the market for Major Domestic Appliances (MDA) experienced a sudden hit when in autumn 2008 the collapsing housing market in the US and the following credit crunch sent its shock waves around the globe. At the beginning of 2009, the outlook for the rest of the year looked rather gloomy as the world was just about to enter the fiercest recession since 1945.

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