What you need to know
2015 was a poor year for the electricals market. Consumer spending fell following a strong 2014, held back by worsening deflation in core-categories and a hangover from the high-demand seen around Black Friday 2014. The specialist retailers outperformed in this market environment: the specialists market saw sales grow by an estimated 6.8% allowing them to capture their highest share of spending, 45.3%, since the collapse of Comet in 2012. The performance of Dixons Carphone is a major part of this; the retailer grew its share of the market by an estimated 1.8 percentage points in 2015 when some of its nearest non-specialist rivals, notably Argos, saw their share fall. The electricals market remains highly price-sensitive, a key reason why it is estimated that over 50% of spending came through online channels in 2015, and the move by Dixons Carphone to bring prices in line with its online-only rivals has been crucial in its recent success. Our consumer data also shows that stores continue to play a crucial role in the electrical buying process, with a majority of consumers still preferring to see products physically before buying, and the strength of the specialist’s stores, combined with their specialist knowledge, is helping them fight back against their non-specialist rivals.
Areas covered in this report
This report uses utilises market, consumer research and key retailer metrics to give an overview of the UK electrical goods market. The electrical goods market is a diverse one both in terms of the products sold and the retailers who sell them. We have split the product market into four key segments for each of which we provide a market size and forecast:
Household appliances – Consisting of both major appliances, such as refrigerators and washing machines and small appliances, such as coffee-machines and kettles.
Audio-visual and photographic equipment – Consisting of audio-visual products, such as TVs and stereo systems and photographic equipment, such as digital cameras and projectors.
Computing and telecoms – Consisting of information processing equipment, such as personal computers and tablets, and telephone and telefax equipment, such as mobile and home phones.
Personal care appliances – Consisting of electrical appliances of personal care, such as electric razors and hairdryers.
The full range of retailers and products covered by these segments is covered in more detail in the Appendix of this report.
