According to Gfk, demand for small domestic appliances continues to grow. From January to June 2017, the global market (excluding North America) showed positive growth – with an overall increase of 8.4 percent to a total panel market value of 21.5 billion euro. GfK expects global sales growth of six to eight percent for the year 2017. Over half of this global growth is attributed only to the sales in the cities tracked by GfK in China (including online sales). Air purifiers (up 48 percent) are especially popular with Chinese consumers, as are electrical toothbrushes (up 161 percent) and cordless handstick vacuum cleaners (up 172 percent). The largest small domestic appliances market – Europe – gained by 4.1 percent in comparison to the same period the previous year. Devices such as cordless handstick vacuum cleaners (up 30 percent), electric fans (up 159 percent) and fully automatic coffee machines (up 10 percent) are primarily responsible for this growth.
The topic of convenience is becoming increasingly important. In the area of floor cleaning, cordless handstick vacuum cleaners continued their success story in the countries tracked by GfK. The considerable sales growth of recent years is continuing (up 45 percent). Sales of robot vacuum cleaners rose by 22 percent to 612 million euro. Consumer need for convenience and time savings is also evident in the area of “kitchen”. Stand blenders with an integrated cooking function are in demand, for example. Driven by the Chinese market, this product group has grown considerably (up 96 percent), achieving overall revenue of 116 million euro.
Health and fitness continues to be a popular topic – for small domestic appliances as well. Due to increasing air pollution in numerous cities, air purifiers are currently booming (up 34 percent). Overall, this product group represents a market of nearly €1.2 billion in the 26 countries monitored by GfK. Stand blenders with a take-away cup, also called smoothie makers, are also increasingly popular. Demand is rising in Asia especially (up 73 percent). Hot air fryers that promise healthier food thanks to the use of less fat are also selling strongly. In comparison with last year, they achieved a global sales growth of 20 percent.
Besides, connectivity with smartphones is becoming more and more important for small domestic appliances. Especially robotic vacuum cleaners controlled by apps are increasingly popular with consumers: the value-based market share of connected appliances in Western Europe is currently 26 percent, compared to 9 percent the previous year. Demand is also growing for connected bathroom scales. Especially in France, app-connected devices already make up about one fourth of the market revenue and have achieved double-digit rates of growth (up 29 percent). In Germany connected fully automatic coffee machines currently have very high growth of 212 percent, but with a market share that is still quite small (3.7 percent).
