Southeast Asian consumers upgrading small appliances: GfK

The findings show the small domestic appliances (SDA) market in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand in the last 12 months totaled more than US$804 million, expanding by nearly 6 per cent in value compared to the same period a year ago.

This is a result of consumers buying nearly 1.6 million more small household appliances such as food preparation appliances, irons, rice cookers and vacuum cleaners compared with the previous year.

Jasmine Lim, account director for home & lifestyle in GfK Asia, said the growth was driven by increasing affluence of households, especially in developing countries.

“In recent times, our findings have shown escalating sales of higher-end appliances, an indication of consumers having greater purchasing power and are switching from buying basic models to the more sophisticated product ranges,” she said.

Among all the small domestic appliances, rice cookers are the most purchased item, with more than 13.8 million units sold in the last 12 months. They also account for the biggest market value at  more than US$355 million in sales.

However, the vacuum cleaner segment experienced the greatest volume growth, 8 per cent, driven by Indonesia and Thailand, where sales volume increased by 23 and 17 per cent, respectively.

According to GfK, Thailand registered the strongest incremental value growth at 12 per cent, as well as the highest consumption level as consumers there spent more than $235 million on more than 9 million units of these appliances, contributing to nearly 30 per cent in value and volume to the combined SDA market in the region.

The findings also show European brands are registering rising presence in four of the five countries, with one in every three food-preparation appliances, vacuum cleaners and irons sold in the region being of continental origin. This has made European manufacturers the dominant contributors to the total sales value in the respective categories.

“Some of the European and continental players are aggressively and successfully developing their brand presence through above-the-line activities, store presence and extending their range of offerings in Southeast Asia,” Lim told Campaign Asia-Pacific.

On the other hand, she said, local brands should still continue to have an influence in some markets as they cater mainly to the lower price tiers and are still sought by price-conscious consumers.

Overall, Lim said the uptrend for SDA products is likely to continue, driven especially by strong demand in the region’s developing markets, and the sector will remain in healthy territory in the months ahead.