25,000 flat screen 3D TVs already sold in Europe

GfK Consumer Electronic Conference 2010: growth trends

NUREMBERG — The global market for consumer electronics will again continue to grow this year. GfK Retail and Technology is forecasting a sales increase of approximately 5% in comparison to the previous year. The GfK Consumer Electronic Conference 2010 focused on how this positive trend could be maintained in future. Around 160 participants attended the event in Munich on June 15, which was entitled “The Success of Sound and Vision”.

One conclusion drawn at the conference was that consumers are spending more on consumer electronics again. Last year, 238 million TV sets were sold worldwide, and in its Digital World Report 2010, GfK Retail and Technology anticipates that 252 million televisions will be sold this year.

Televisions generate the most sales in the consumer electronics segment. Flat-screen technology has now established itself successfully and the trend is moving towards state-of-the-art technical equipment for the home with increasingly larger TV screens. Furthermore, a rising number of retailers are offering televisions with LED technology, which consume little electricity while also offering improved picture quality. The distinctions between different CE devices are increasingly blurring as consumers can, for example, access internet pages and download videos on their televisions. Although 3D technology for the living room is currently still in its infancy, almost every notable television manufacturer does now offer TV screens with 3D settings, or will soon have them in their product range. By the end of May 2010, more than 25,000 flat screen televisions with 3D technology had already been sold in Europe.

Among consumers, it is evident that an increasing number of households have devices with a range of additional multimedia functions. However, only very few consumers are actually taking advantage of the rising convergence of technology in the living room. Many continue to use the different devices for their standard functions, for example, solely as televisions or laptops.

In future, retailers will therefore be faced with the task of communicating the benefits of innovative technologies to consumers and supporting them as competent advisors. The latest survey of 120 electronic retailers in Germany, France and the UK found that 3D televisions will be an integral part of product ranges in future. In addition, 90% of retailers stated that the topic of internet television also sparked interest among their customers.