Consumer electronics and appliances market in the new Covid era

The Covid-19 pandemic was the single biggest factor impacting the market for consumer electronics and appliances in Poland in 2020-2021. The category has been among pandemic winners. According to a new report from PMR, Retail market of home appliances, electronics and digital media in Poland 2022. Market analysis and development forecasts for 2022-2027, its retail sales grew by an impressive 15% in 2020, and remained elevated in 2021.

In contrast to some other segments of retail, the coronavirus pandemic has had a positive effect on the market for consumer electronics and appliances. Forced to work and learn from home, and to spend more time at home generally, many households splurged on such products, adding new or upgrading existing equipment. As a result, in 2020 the market grew in value by more than 15% compared with 2019 and reached PLN 36.1bn (€8bn).

Consumer demand was even stronger in 2021. However, a global shortage of electronic components led to reduced product availability in stores, and the pace of market growth was not as fast as in 2020.

Online became biggest channel in 2021

The category had a very high and growing share of online sales when Covid-19 struck, and the pandemic has accelerated e-commerce growth. As a result, 2021 witnessed an important milestone in channel mix evolution.

According to PMR data, the online channel captured 45% of total sales last year, overtaking specialty chains as the biggest distribution channel for consumer electronics and appliances in Poland for the first time. We forecast that the online share will continue to grow and will surpass 50% in 2027.