The positive trend of the consumer technology sector in our country definitely does not stop: according to GfK Market Intelligence findings, in the first half of 2021 the Italian market recorded an overall growth of + 21.3% compared to the same period of 2020.
Sales growth in the first six months of the year was more marked in traditional stores (+ 75.5%) compared to the online channel (+ 24.5%); this greater increase on an annual basis is obviously linked to the closures of the stores during the first lockdown of spring 2020, which had led to a slowdown in sales in physical stores and an increase in the use of e-commerce.
In the period analyzed, all the segments that make up the technology were positive: consumer electronics grew, registering an increase in sales of + 30.1%, in particular among televisions (+ 31.2%), due to major sporting events, but above all the announced switch-off, which convinced many to buy a new device. Growing trend even for adults domestic appliances (+ 27.8%), with particularly positive sales performance for dryers, dishwashers and kitchen appliances. Double-digit growth also for the sector of telephony (+ 21.1%), definitely the most important in terms of turnover in the Italian consumer technology market.
The sector that grew the most was however that of home comfort (+ 52.1%), for reasons related to the weather conditions of these first 6 months of 2021, with a strong increase in sales of conditioners and fans in the last months of the survey; there is also a strong growth photography (+ 45.9%), which had recorded very negative trends throughout 2020, penalized by the limitations to mobility and therefore to outdoor activities.
Compared to what GfK recorded in recent months, it has instead slowed for the first time the growth of small household appliances (+ 16.3%) and in the It Office sector (+ 13.2%), but it should be remembered that these two sectors were the ones that had seen the greatest increases in 2020: a slowdown in growth is therefore part of a progressive return to market normality. According to analysts, another element to emphasize is the difficulty in finding raw materials, mainly linked to the procurement of semiconductors.
Finally, going to see the most recent data relating to the trend in consumer technology (referring to June 2021), a positive trend emerges for all sectors, with the exception of the small household appliance and the It Office, which in the same period of 2020 had recorded a real sales boom; overall, in June 2021 the consumer technology market is still growing by + 6.2% compared to the same month of 2020.
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