According to GfK data, small and major appliances faced the pandemic situation without significand drop. The Small Domestic Appliances (SDA) market grew by a solid +8.6 percent while the Major Domestic Appliances (MDA) market (including Air Conditioners) experienced limited losses of -8.6 percent in value terms. Excluding Air Conditioners the revenue loss was only -3.7 percent.
«Although the pandemic had a significant negative impact on sales due to retail shutdowns – GfK experts explains – the increased focus on the at-home experiences drove a sales recovery in May and June. Sales of appliances addressing the new challenges generated by the enforced need to “eat at home”, “clean at home” and “groom at home” soared. This includes microwave ovens, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, beard trimmers and multi-grooming kits. However, for some categories, entire seasons were lost due to COVID-19 – for example, Air conditioners. Overall, MDA (excluding Air Conditioners) only lost -3.7 percent in value terms – even less than the total -5.8 percent for the tech & durables (TCG) market. Whatever the appliance, the overall trends driving choice for consumers of performance, simplification, health hygiene and borderless shopping have become more relevant than ever.»

Looking at the regions, in the first half year of 2020 (H1 2020), the SDA market experienced a solid performance in the developed world. Europe (including CIS) grew by +9 percent. The MDA market was almost stable at -2 percent here. Developed Asian countries also saw a strong uptake of MDA products at an +2.7 percent uptick. While affluent countries were able to invest in appliances to makes their life easier in lockdown, this was less feasible in emerging economies due to the immediate impact of the pandemic on income and willingness to spend money. Consequently, the emerging Asian countries (including China) experienced a double-digit decline in value, weakening MDA market growth. However, the low price point of SDA products and the urgent need for cooking and cleaning products supported a rapid revival of SDA in emerging Asian countries (including China). Here SDA grew by +10.9 percent. Fortunately, in June total appliances growth recovered with double digit sales growth both in China and the rest of the world.