The sell-out data of the main online and offline retailers active in the Italian market in the period between January and June 2024 show a still negative trend for the Tech market. GfK Market Intelligence‘s findings indicate that sales of Tech products in the Country continue to experience a slowdown. Almost all sectors recorded a drop in demand in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2023. And some encouraging signs came only in June.
Looking at the data in detail, the Italian market posted a drop in sales of -4.7% (value) compared to the same period in 2023, standing at 7 billion euros. This scenario highlights a persistent weakness in the sector after the record sales recorded in the pandemic years. As anticipated, some glimmer comes from the most recent data. In June the technical consumer goods market, while remaining in the negative area (-1.4% in value), shows signs of stabilization. The negativity concerns both sales in the traditional channels – which decreased by -5.3% compared to the first half of 2023 – and sales in the online channel, although to a more limited extent: in this case the decline was -2.9% in value.
THE TREND OF THE SECTORS
Small Domestic Appliances
In the first half of 2024, only the Small Domestic Appliances sector grew (+5.8% compared to the first six months of 2023). In particular, among the most important products by turnover is the increase in sales of vacuum cleaners (+2.4%).
Telecommunication
The Telecommunication sector loses ground compared to last year (-4.3% in value). But it remains the most important sector by turnover generated. GfK data show a decline in demand for smartphones (-4.5%), partially offset by growth in sales of smartwatches with SIM (+4.5%).
Photography and Consumer Electronics
Among the worst-performing sectors in the first six months of 2024 are Photography (-12.4%) and Consumer Electronics (-10.2%) – the latter of which has long grappled with declining demand. June, however, showed an increase of +6.3% (value) for Consumer Electronics, an encouraging sign attributable in part to the major sporting events of summer 2024.
Home Comfort
As regards to the Home Comfort sales, they show a slight decline in the first part of the year (-0.2%). This product category is increasingly less tied to seasonal rhythms. It seems to have been affected by an unusual start of the summer, with heavy rains and below-average temperatures in many areas of Italy. But in June it saw a return to the positive sign (+1.8% compared to June 2023).
Major Domestic Appliances
On the other hand, with regard to Major Domestic Appliances, these products closed the first half of 2024 with negative results compared to the same period in 2023. In fact, sales dropped by -4.6% in value and, in this case, the month of June did not reverse the trend.
Information Technology/Office
Finally, the Information Technology/Office sector showed a decline in sales of -8.7%. Comparing the results of the different segments, Small Domestic Appliances, Major Domestic Appliances, and Home Comfort show better performance than other categories in the Tech market.
