Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Electrical foodprep appliances put in a steady sales performance in the run-up to Christmas 2011, managing marginal growth over the year before.
GfK, which has just released new figures on the sector, notes that small kitchen appliances generally get a boost in the approach to Christmas and says that 2011 was no different. Purchases were not only at the budget end of the scale either, it adds.
Premium-priced kitchen machines, stand mixers and food processors all traditionally perform well in value, and kitchen machines in particular grew their share of the foodprep market by three percentage points over the six months to Christmas, taking a quarter of sales and rising to over 30% in value during November.
GfK says that this consistent topping of the year before in sales terms is impressive, but adds that 2011 failed to deliver as emphatic a performance as usual. Foodprep only just comes out ahead compared to previous years.
The number of products leaving shelves also fell in some quarters. Mini choppers, hand mixers and hand blenders lost out in volume terms although value still remains strong and contributed an extra £3m in the second half of 2012.
GfK says that while the internet has had a big impact on where consumers buy and the prices they are willing to trade up to, bricks-and-mortar retailers still win out, taking over three-quarters of foodprep sales. Online share of trade is on the rise though; overall, internet retail stands at more than 24% of all items sold in foodprep, increasing from less than one fifth of the market just two years ago.
