GfK: global market for TCG turns positive in 2020

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As reported by Gfk, the pandemic disrupted multiple industries in 2020, however the global market for technical consumer goods (excluding North America) displayed resilience with a value growth of +2 percent in the full year. Consumers turned to tech to continue working and learning while staying at home, which led to a surge in demand for IT and Office products. Equally important was the need for the convenience offered by home appliances to cook and clean, especially in Europe and other affluent regions. After the market contraction of April 2020 with a sales value decline of almost 25 percent, it looked like Covid-19’s impact would be devastating. But the markets recovered as the year unfolded. “An unprecedented year lies behind us and in the end Covid-19 turned out to be a driver of the tech and durables industry – explains Norbert Herzog, GfK’s expert on technical consumer goods -. This will have lasting effect as household digitization was fast-tracked and consumers invested heavily in their IT equipment and home appliances. Today, the number of products owned per household is higher than ever, pushing TCG markets to increased revenue levels long-term”. But there is a clear divide between developed and emerging regions globally. In Europe and developed Asian regions, consumers invested in their homes (+8 percent value growth in 2020 year-on-year). Emerging markets in Asia and Latin America, however, posted a decline of -4 percent versus 2019. Being hit first in January 2020, heavyweight China contributed to this negative result. The market recovery in China accelerated as 2020 progressed but was unable to compensate for the losses overall. And the world’s biggest lockdown in India devastated all sales in the month of April across the country.