By Claire Reilly
Despite a slight decline in the value of the electrical retail market at the start of the year, one category has remained bullish and shown positive results amidst challenging retail circumstances.
According to the GfK Temax Australia report for Q1 2013, the value of the “Technical Consumer Goods” market in Australia was at $4.15 billion, down 1.6 per cent year-on-year. Despite this decline, the small appliances category saw strong growth, increasing in value by 7.7 per cent.
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Several key product groups in the category were responsible for driving this growth, as GfK Retail and Technology commercial director Gwenno Hopkin explained.
“Accounting for almost a third of the revenue generated from Small Domestic Appliances, vacuum cleaners enjoyed a significant double-digit growth in Quarter 1. High-end and niche products drove the growth, with the popularity of robot, handstick and uprights pushing up the overall price of the segment.
“In the meantime, soaring summer temperatures translated to even higher value and unit growth rates for the electric fan segment. All types of fans, across all price points, experienced significant growth, as Australians sought respite from record-breaking temperatures. The food preparation segment continued to deliver healthy growth in Quarter 1, as did shavers.
“In contrast, the high value hot beverage maker segment experienced its first year-on-year value decline this quarter, despite a double-digit unit growth. Following a sustained period of continuous growth, this popular segment has begun to mature, and the introduction of lower-end brands and models is now attracting a broader base of consumers to the category.”