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UK Black Friday delivers the lowest consumer tech sales since 2017


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fK reported that one of the few chinks of light in an otherwise disappointing


Black Friday event was the small domestic appliances category, where sales were flat compared to last year. Kelly Whitwick, senior manager, Retail Market


Intelligence at GfK, said: “The runaway success of hot air fryer, with sales up 145% year-on- year, prevented the SDA category declining like others including consumer electronics, major domestic appliances, IT, photo, office and stationery. Saving money on the rising cost of utilities was clearly top of mind for many shoppers this Black Friday. Other top-selling energy efficient appliances


price drops for TVs of all screen sizes. Sales fell by 16% in value and 7% in volume year-on-year. Ms Whitwick said: “These results confirm that consumers are being much more considered in their purchases. It’s not just the cost of living that is a concern. Many people bought technology goods during the Covid periods of 2020 and 2021, so there isn’t the same level of need to buy new items, but there’s also a distinct lack of innovation in the market. “In the last recession, consumers continued


in demand during November’s big promotional event include electric blankets, heated clothes airers and heated throws. The losses in the CE category were driven by


to invest in the latest technology. With fewer product launches, there was little or no urgency to spend on Black Friday 2022. “The only category to enjoy growth was telecoms – one where new features are still on offer.”


Energy efficient appliances drive festive sales growth for Marks Electrical


– televisions, refrigeration and small domestic appliances as customers look to save on energy costs. Marks Electrical also saw continued adoption


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nline white goods retailer Marks Electrical said it has defied the


consumer gloom aſter delivering strong revenue growth of 33.4% to £29.8 million between October and December. Sales, it said, were especially strong of A-rated


energy efficient laundry appliances – such as increasingly popular heat pump tumble dryers


of its new in-house installation service, with over 3,000 installations of integrated appliances completed since the services was launched in August 2022. The group said it was on track to achieve its full year financial targets. Mark Smithson, chief executive of Marks


Electrical, said: “I am proud of the entire team at Marks Electrical for delivering a record quarterly performance, with year-on-year growth of 33.4% against a tough economic back-drop.


“This further demonstrates the resilience of our business model and the attractiveness of our market-leading customer offering, which more people are discovering up and down the country.” Mr Smithson said the company invested in


targeted television, radio and out-of-home campaigns over the Black Friday and Christmas sales peaks. “This led to increased website traffic and


broad-based revenue growth across the UK, but with particularly strong improvements year-on- year in London, South-east England and the East Midlands,” he said.


Beko survey finds that 89% of homeowners “ignore” energy efficient features


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new survey of 6,000 homeowners and renters from across the globe, commissioned by Beko, has revealed that nearly nine


in 10 (89%) respondents globally ignore what’s best when it comes to energy efficiency in the home, despite 80% of those surveyed knowing how to use their household appliances in an energy efficient way. The survey looked at global consumer attitudes and behaviours


concerning energy efficiency and is part of its latest campaign to shed light on how kitchen appliances are used efficiently in the home. While these results paint a contradictory picture of household efficiency, findings have shown that globally, 87% of those surveyed believe in the


6 | www.ierdaily.co.uk


importance of energy efficiency and 78% take an interest in purchasing products that look to improve their household’s efficiency. However, the majority of respondents admitted to engaging in energy inefficient behaviours that are known to waste energy including: ¡ Leaving the fridge door open when deciding what to eat (29%); ¡ Leaving a freezer plugged in when it’s got nothing in it (20%); and ¡ Leave gadgets on charge for longer than they need (37%). Akin Garzanli, chief marketing officer at Arçelik, said: “The data gives us a fascinating insight into how attitudes towards energy efficiency are evolving across the globe.”


January 2023


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