As expected, April’s performance was better than May’s. The quarantine, the weather and consumer behavior once again had a strong influence. Following some easing of restrictions, sales that increased in April stabilized in May. Comparing year-to-year results, the numbers look good: the market is up +26% in Sales Units. Overall, the market is strong and continues to grow. The biggest increase was seen in Smartwatches (+147% compared to last May), TVs and Headphones +43%. The smallest growth was seen in TELCO (+6%) and IT sector (+12%). Sales Value increased by +40%, while the trend of buying less and paying more continues. Due to the increase of LTE Smartwatches in the market, the sales value of wearables category increased by 282%, followed by CE category with +30%, SDA +52%, MDA +35%, IT +29% and finally TELCO with +21%.
The MDA sector had a better April than May, but that did not diminish the second quarter results. While certain product categories showed rather high sales and value numbers in April, the MDA sector showed more logic and less surprise in May, while the trend remained the same. The best performing category was Tumble-Dryers (+83%) and Dishwashers (+38%). Built-in appliances grew by 30%. The success of the MDA sector in recent months can be attributed to the opening of physical stores and their importance to the sector. The trend towards comfort appliances such as Tumble-Dryers and Dishwashers remains strong and continued in the second quarter. The hot summer should strongly impact sales of refrigeration appliances.
The SDA sector has been steady, repeatedly, since the first quarantine. The highest sales were in Hot Beverage Makers (+30%) and Vacuum Cleaner’s (+30%) – but just Robot Vacuums. Even if the trend remains the same, the shaver category had a +7% growth, compared to last month when it was -8%. Irons also had a positive result in the last three months, after having negative results in 2020.
The TV sector showed a positive result after a couple of months of negative sales. In May, the numbers were slightly positive at +4%. Compared to May last year, the results are slightly modest at +23% in units and +55% in value. The TV sector is expected to continue to grow as long as retailers’ supply lasts.
Over the last couple of periods, the market has shown a decline in the performance of the IT sector. April declined for the first time in a long time. While it was expected that the IT sector would continue to decline, the May data surprisingly showed the opposite. Compared to May last year, units were up 12% and value was up 29%. It is hard to predict if the growth of the IT sector will continue; we will have to see in the coming months. The most noticeable growth was in Notebooks (+14%). Tablets also had +3% growth, compared to negative 19% last year, and monitors at +57%. The only category with negative sales was Printers at -26%. In terms of value, Tablets did best at +20%, followed by Notebooks +28%, Monitors +66% and Printers at -4%.
Finally, the SMP sector stabilized after an unusual growth spurt. May had a 6% increase in sales value compared to last year. Sales value also showed positive results with 21% growth. It is expected that the SMP sector will continue to grow slightly, but without large swings.