If May showed continued growth, June saw a marked decrease in consumer interest. In some cases, the market fell by as much as -20% across the Baltics. However, compared with this time last year, the market did not change drastically. Sales Units actually grew by 18%, while the sales value increased by 29%. The biggest increase was in Smart Watches and Bracelets (Sales Units +57%, Sales Value +79%). In second place, though not surprisingly, was the CE sector with growth of +21% in Sales Units and +54% in Sales Units. June was much warmer than last year, so naturally the MDA sector grew 18% in Sales Units and +28% in sales value. The IT sector ended the month with +8% in Sales Units and +35% in sales value. The SDA sector was up 21% in sales value and 54% in Sales Units. The TELCO sector showed only 2% growth in Sales Units and +9% in sales value. Although June was the worst performing month in the second quarter, experience has shown that this is not unusual.
The MDA sector was almost identical to May’s numbers. Overall, the sector grew 18%. Tumble Dryers were the leading product group, up 56%, followed by Dishwashers, up 36%. Coolers ended the month with 15% growth, Washing Machines with +12%. Only Freezers finished down 7%. MDA sales value increased by 28%, the leading product groups remained the same as in Sales Units, only Freezers had a growth of +9%.
The SDA sector grew 21% year-on-year in June in Sales Units and as much as 52% in sales value. The trend and tendencies have not changed in recent years. Once again, the most popular product groups were Robot Vacuum Cleaners and Hot Beverage Makers, although it appears that these trends may end soon. While Hot Beverage Makers sales were up 35% in unit sales, value was up 45% in May, June sales were up only 8% and sales value was up 28%. It is important to highlight the Irons: while it had only negative market results in 2020, it has been only positive this year.
The TV sector grew almost as much year-on-year in June as it did in May. However, it was expected to grow slightly more as there were major sporting events in June. TVs grew +48% in value, the trend is clear but expected to decline soon. However, the TV sector will definitely end the year with record breaking numbers.
The IT sector continues to offer surprises, but it is experiencing a slow decline in sales, if May showed a growth of 12%, June ended with +8% in Sales Units. On the other hand, Notebooks grew 31% in June –twice as much as in May. Overall, growth in the second half of the year will not be more than 20%, but still, the year will be great for the IT sector.
After the abnormally huge growth in March and April in the SMP sector, where we saw an increase of up to 82%, it has finally stabilized and is showing more predictable numbers +2% in units and +9% in sales value. The SMP sector is expected to experience slower growth in the coming months.
As expected, the share of online channels compared to traditional channels is approaching last year’s figures, again – 26% in units in July, while in 2020 it was 23%. As expected, the first half of the year ended with very promising results. The second half of the year should not disappoint either, as the market is unlikely to rise above the 30% growth threshold, but the results will definitely be positive.