Consumers and sustainability: the outlook of GfK

As highlighted by GfK, the environmental pollution is one of only two consumer concerns that have remained consistently high over the past seven years. Neither pandemics, nor inflation fears, which have recently risen significantly, have been able to push climate change out of people’s minds. In 2022, it still was among the top five concerns in 13 of the 22 countries surveyed in the global GfK Consumer Life study. GfK experts take a look at how sustainability and consumers’ environmental demands are influencing the global Tech and Durables market. In March 2021 the EU launched its new energy labelling for appliances. Since then, the sales share of A-class models has more than doubled within one year and already exceeds a share of 60 percent in certain countries and product categories. Over the next years, energy-efficient appliances are expected to continue to gain market share as the norm moves toward products being labeled between A and C. “For consumers, the environment is a constant priority that is not going away, regardless of short-term distractions from competing concerns – Norbert Herzog, GfK expert for Consumer Tech and Durables says –. Leading indicators are already telling us today that the markets are starting to be driven by eco-initiatives, even beyond the obvious energy labeling claim. So, the question for the T&D sector is not ‘if’, but ‘when’ sustainability will become one of the main criteria for all of consumers’ purchasing decisions”. GfK forecasts that the answer to this is “within 7 years”. By 2030, it predicts that 50 percent of the world’s population will be eco-active, with a potential global spend of over 700 billion US dollars on Consumer Tech and Durables.