GfK shows that the value of the global Technical Consumer Goods market declined by minus 5.5 percent to 413 billion US dollars in the first half of 2022, versus the same period last year. Looking ahead to the full year 2022, GfK forecasts a similar decline in year-on-year sales. This moderation in growth is due to indexing against the peak sales and high benchmarks achieved in 2021. Nevertheless, the market value is still above pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
Globally, the demand for TCG goods in the first six months of 2022 decelerated as markets continued to adapt to the macro environment of recurring COVID waves, high inflation, supply chain disruptions and the impact of the war in Ukraine. Consumer spending also changed: IT and home appliances, which were popular at the onset of the pandemic, started declining in growth this year, compared to the very strong baseline numbers of 2021. Global sales declined by minus 5 percent for IT and minus 6 percent for Small Domestic Appliances. Major Domestic Appliances, including air conditioners, performed the best among the TCG sectors, with a decline of only minus 3 percent. Consumer Electronics (minus 7 percent) and Telecom (minus 6 percent) also declined owning to a market slowdown and high 2021 baseline.
According to GfK, another driver for falling demand is the rise in average prices. June 2022 recorded an increase of plus 26 percent in average sale prices across all TCG products, indexed against January 2020 before the pandemic hit in force. This is primarily due to the change in product mix and polarization towards premium and entry-level products, as well as a combination of several other influencing factors. As manufacturers’ production costs rise, they are forced to either cut profit margins or to pass some of the higher costs on to the consumer – further fueling inflation.
