Europe becomes key region for electronic goods as US concedes ground

EUROPE: Figures released recently have revealed that Western Europe (19 percent of global total) will surpass North America (18 percent) as the region with the largest volume share of technical consumer goods (TCG) in 2009.

Sales of the three main categories of the electronics market (mobile phones, TVs and PC) in Western Europe will rise by 2 percent over 2008 to reach $131 billion whereas North America will experience a substantial decline of 12 percent.

The financial crisis has taken its toll on the industry, with the global TCG market valued at $681 billion for 2009, falling by 2 percent over 2008. This is still an increase of 12 percent over the 2007 figure, however.

Japan saw the most impressive climb (+19 percent) although no region accelerated their rate compared to 2008. The Eastern Europe market declined most dramatically – falling by 36 percent in 2009 over 2008.

In terms of products, sales of LCD TVs have risen much higher than expected, to reach a global total of 145 million sets sold in 2009, compared to 108 million in 2008.

The findings are based on real, POS sales data from over 400,000 retailers worldwide through GfK Retail and Technology’s recently launched ‘Digital World’ forecasting service.

Working with the CEA, the US industry authority, this brand new comprehensive global database allows all those with an interest in the IT, Telco and CE markets to compare, contrast and forecast their portfolios in detail for the first time.