Following the rise of domestic robots, bread makers and freezers during the Covid 2020 and 2021 lockdowns, the home appliance market is rebalancing itself, seeking more comfort but also sobriety, according to an annual report published this Tuesday.
With 9.7 billion euros in business deals in 2022, the sales are accused of a 2.1% return to 2021, according to the GFK Market Intelligence cabinet that analyzes the données sorties de caisse de tous les distributeurs in France. However, they remain 12.3% above those of 2019, the reference year, before the health crisis.
In large household appliances – ovens, hobs, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, wine cellars, microwaves, extractor hoods – the market remained stable, at 6,000 million euros last year, and above 2019 (5,300 million euros). . ). Freezer sales, which had experienced a historic boom of 18% during the 2020 health crisis, fell 2.2%; dryers 9.5%, but refrigerators rose 3.9%. For their part, sales of small household appliances fell by 4.8% to 3,700 million euros, remaining 10% above those of 2019.
hard to predict
The climate crisis and the energy crisis have boosted some sales: 82% more fans were sold last year than in 2021. Mobile electric heaters were up 25% and air purifiers were up 9.2%. But the steam plant fell 6.9%, multicookers 9.5% and floor maintenance (vacuum cleaners) 5%. The automatic coffee maker with integrated grinder -whose sales had increased by 46% in 2021- stabilized (-0.8%), while the filter or single-dose coffee maker fell by 7%.
Each French home is equipped with an average of seven machines and 17 small pieces of equipment, according to Gifam, an interprofessional group of manufacturers of household appliances and equipment that brings together 50 groups and 117 brands. Last year, appliance labels shot up a bit more than headline inflation. And the year 2023 could well tighten the situation a little more, with the consumer credit market entering a zone of turbulence, according to industry analysts.
While inflation in France increased by an average of 5.2% in 2022 according to INSEE, labels for large household appliances increased by 6.9% and those for small equipment by 5.9% on average in 2022. Gifam mitigates the observation stressing that the increases are accompanied by technical innovations to save energy or increase comfort. By 2023, “hard to predict the market these days,” we say.
Professionals are committed to advancing in the sobriety of their household appliances to attract new customers: between 2001 and 2021, “washing machines consume 68% less electricity and 26% less water,” argues Camille Beurdeley, general director of Gifam. In 20 years, dryers have reduced their electricity consumption by 78%, ovens by 37% and dishwashers by 56%.
durability index
Manufacturers and consumers are also betting on the “repair fund” provided for in the circular economy law of 2020, which came into force in mid-December 2022. Endowed with 410 million euros over six years, its financing is provided by manufacturers, via eco -organizations in charge of managing the end of the useful life of the devices.
It provides a grant of a few tens of euros, depending on the model, for the repair of the equipment in an approved workshop. An observatory must be established to ensure that repair prices do not take advantage of the windfall to skyrocket. However, the “repairability index” set on certain equipment to aid consumer choice at the time of purchase will not “extend” to all product lines, Ms. Beurdeley cautioned.
Professionals are working on a broader “sustainability index”, negotiated with the social and solidarity economy (Envie network), consumer associations (“Stop planned obsolescence”, UFC Que Choisir) and public administrations (Ademe, CGDD). According to her, it should be “visible on the shelves at the beginning of 2025”.
Source: BFM TV
