Mintel estimates the Spanish electricals market to be worth some €11 billion in 2005 including sales tax or approximately €9.5 billion excluding VAT. Over the last four years the sector has lost share of all retailing as deflation has made it difficult to keep up with the wider retail market. But on the other hand, specialists have grown faster than non-specialist retailers of electrical goods. A number of factors have helped to drive demand for electrical products in recent years. These include a strong housing market, buoyant consumer spending, rapid expansion of the foreign electrical chains, new product development and falling unit prices. Growing uptake of the Internet as a shopping research and purchasing tool has helped at the fringes and will play a bigger role in the future. The buying groups have also upped their game with improved choice and services and some development of larger store formats.

Spanish consumers are very keen to take up new technology with sharp rises in ownership of items such as DVD players, digital cameras and MP3 players. However their general enthusiasm for gadgets is less pronounced than among French, German or British consumers. The Spanish are however becoming more excited about the prospect of digital television, although they show little enthusiasm for television shopping services. They are by far the most inclined of the four countries mentioned to say they think it’s worth paying extra for quality goods.