The past few months have impacted every aspect of life and business alike. We have in essence re-defined what “normal” is, which has also led to a shift in consumer habits, some which will be permanent.  One particular industry that experienced significant growth is the consumer electronics industry. In this blog, we deep dive into some of the key factors that led to the growth of consumer electronics. We also provide market insights for Germany from the ChannelSight data. 

Country eCommerce Maturity 

The industry was projected to grow considerably online even pre-COVID19. This projection is based on the increased penetration of the Internet of Things, rising disposable incomes, increased adoption of smartphones, and other smart devices.

In particular, Germany is one of the largest eCommerce markets in western Europe. It is a mature eCommerce market and has a high online adoption rate. Reports predict that 95% of the population will be shopping online by the end of this year. Overall, the eCommerce market in Germany alone is expected to reach 104.3 billion in 2020. 

Trends and Growth in Germany

Due to COVID-19 there was a shift in consumer behaviour across markets.  A survey conducted in the German market reported that 77% people stayed at home, and 28% of people shopped more online. A large chunk of the growth in consumer electronics was led by the new “normal” whereby millions of people adjusted to working from home. Hence, setting up home offices, and buying equipment such as video conferring tools,  headphones, and mobile devices which fuelled the growth of consumer electronics. 

ChannelSight is equipped with data from over 1000 retailers across 65 markets, based on which we have drawn the data below. It can be seen that the year on year unique clicks for 2020 have been higher since the start of the year. 

However, the difference in these figures between 2019 and 2020 grew significantly in March onwards. Around the same time when the government imposed lockdowns were implemented across Europe, including Germany.  This is a strong indicator of consumer behaviour in the consumer electronics vertical for Germany. 

A similar trend can be seen in basket generation i.e. basket checkouts in the chart below. While initially the basket checkouts were lower than they were in 2019, the trend in conjunction with the government imposed lockdowns, experienced a spike from March onwards. 

The peak is reaches in April for Germany. We extrapolate that the basket checkouts were as a result of millions around the country working from home. While the curve begins to decline after April, the basket checkouts are leveling off at a higher level than in 2019. This is a strong indicator of the overall growth of consumer electronics in the eCommerce space for Germany. 

The Top Retailers in Germany for Consumer Electronics:

At ChannelSight, we track data for over 1000 retailers across countries. Based on our data, 75% traffic and sales for Germany came from these top 5 retailers:

• Amazon
• Mediamarkt
• Saturn
• Euronics 
• Otto

What’s next? 

As Germany carefully eases restrictions, the next few months will be interesting as we navigate through the “new normal”. We can infer based on the data, and the trends that many will permanently switch to shop online. Hence, it is imperative that brands and retailers continuously undertake data driven decisions and have a strong eCommerce strategy in place. 

To keep on top of the trends we have put in place an “ eCommerce Impact tracker”. The tracker shows a monthly analysis on how the markets are performing post-COVID-19 restrictions, compared to 2019. You can build your own reports and insights here. 

Looking for More Insights? 

ChannelSight has a team of experts that can help you understand your customers’ needs better and implement solutions that can help your eCommerce strategy. Contact us today to book a demo with our team of experts.