According to a study by GfK, more than half of consumers in 2021 encountered difficulties in finding the equipment good they wanted.
Printers, connected watches and speakers… These are the high-tech products for which the global shortage of semiconductors has caused the most stock-outs in France, according to a study carried out by GfK. More than half of consumers said they had encountered difficulties in 2021 in finding the home equipment they wanted, including high-tech products and household appliances, both online and in stores.
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However, not all consumers postponed their purchase. Thus, one in three consumers has turned to a more expensive product. The change of sign was also a technique favored by consumers.
The study points out all the samea significant shortfall» for brands, since 25% of consumers indicated that they had given up buying or had turned to the second-hand or refurbished market. A purchasing behavior that has benefited the market since, according to GfK, sales of refurbished smartphones reached 3 million units, representing 16% of the total market, up 36% compared to 2020. average purchase amounted to 279 euros, an increase of 5 euros.
All sectors up, except IT which remains at high levels
Despite the shortage of semiconductors, sales of home-related products did well, including high-tech products and household appliances, reaching 29.6 billion euros, up 3% compared to 2020 and 4% compared to 2019.
In detail, for consumer electronics (televisions, audio products and cameras), the decline in terms of volumes sold is offset by an increase in value. 51 million units were sold, down 2% compared to last year, but sales reached 4.8 billion euros, an increase of 2%. By way of illustration, television sales fell by 16% in volume in 2021, but this drop was offset by ever-stronger sales of premium technologies such as Oled, Qled and Miniled and whose prices are higher.
Same market trend in the smartphone and connected watch sector, which increased by 3% to position itself at 8.1 billion euros. Smartphone sales are down 10% over three years in terms of volume, but the average price of a smartphone has increased by 5%.
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Finally, IT (including in particular computers, screens and tablets), after an exceptional year in 2020 made possible by the crisis and the massive use of teleworking, has returned to a calmer level. At 5.8 billion euros, the market fell by 4% but still remains 10% higher than it was before the epidemic.