The electrical and electronic goods market is very diverse, ranging from televisions and tablets to household appliances and personal care devices. And the performances of these different segments are tied to very different factors – from the housing market to innovation-fuelled deflation.

This report considers the major sub-categories within electrical goods retailing. We provide segment forecasts to 2019 for: household appliances, audio-visual goods, computing and telecoms products and personal care appliances, as well as the total market.

Similarly, the market is served by a diverse range of retailers, from supermarkets such as Tesco and Asda through specialists such as Currys-PC World to internet-only retailers such as AO.com and Amazon.

This report addresses the diverse types of retailers in the market in sections such as Online, Leading Specialist Retailers, Leading Non-Specialist Retailers, Channels of Distribution and The Consumer – Where They Shop.

Our consumer survey this year asked:

• Which categories of electrical/electronic products respondents had bought in the past year (comparable figures for one year earlier provide trend data)

• Which retailers electrical goods shoppers had bought from in the past year (again, comparable figures for one year earlier provide trend data)

• Which categories of electrical/electronic products consumers think they are likely to purchase in the next 12 months

• Which factors are important when choosing where to buy electrical/electronic products

• Perceptions of internet-only retailers versus retailers with stores – which attributes consumers think each is best for

• Attitudes towards retailers of electrical/electronic goods – including statements on pricing and services.

These are the retail sectors included within our definition of electrical goods specialists.

As noted above, this report provides forecasts for four segments of the market: household appliances, audio-visual goods, computing and telecoms products and personal care appliances, as well as the total market. The table below shows which categories are included within these segments.

Financial definitions used are:

• Sales: Turnover as reported by the company, excluding VAT.

• Operating profits: pre-tax profits plus interest, less non-trading income such as the sale of fixed assets and any exceptional items, including provisions.

• Pre-tax profits: the net trading profit after deducting all operating costs including depreciation and finance charges, but before deduction of tax, dividends and other appropriations.

• Operating margin: operating profits as a percentage of sales.

Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland.

In general, all company sales data are quoted excluding VAT.

Consumer spending data and sector sales data are quoted including VAT unless specifically stated otherwise.

VAT-exclusive consumer spending data is used to calculate market shares.

The UK reduced the standard rate of VAT from 17.5% to 15% on 1 December 2008, before increasing it to 17.5% on 1 January 2010 and 20% on 4 January 2011.

Sales per store is calculated using the average number of trading outlets during the year.

Sales per sq m is the sales generated during the year divided by the average area traded from during that year.

One sq m = 10.76 sq ft.

Where a retailer reports in euro, the following exchange rates have been used for conversion to pounds sterling. Where a retailer has a non-calendar year-end, the closest calendar year rate has been used.