Product launches and the pandemic boosted home electronics online
During the past year, e-commerce sales of consumer electronics have soared, resulting in growth of 43 percent.
A lack of vacations led to increased purchases of home electronics products such as robot lawnmowers, and when the cold returned, autumn evenings were spent in isolation in front of new TV screens. Sales remained strong even during the last months of the year. In November, the long-awaited game consoles Playstation 5 and Xbox X were launched on the market. The winter darkness was further illuminated with the launch of new Apple computers, which quickly sold out.
In the Swedish e-commerce market, perhaps the most important event of the year was Amazon’s launch in Sweden. Prior to the launch, there was concern that Amazon’s establishment would cause many Swedish companies to disappear as a result of downward pressure on prices in the market. However, the Amazon launch did not turn out to be the success that many expected. The website was criticized for containing numerous incorrect and sometimes comical translations. In addition, the pricing of some products was questioned. However, these teething problems may be overcome as the company becomes more familiar with the Swedish market.
As usual, Black Week sales were at a record high for the home electronics sector. On the Thursday, sales increased by no less than 62 percent compared with the previous year. In addition, at the request of the Swedish Public Health Agency, more people in Sweden than ever before chose to buy their goods online. The holiday season was even gloomier for stores. 75 percent of the respondents stated that they shopped less in physical stores around Christmas.
Source: The E-barometern annual report 2020
