Sales of gadgets and accessories for them before the so-called gender holidays (February 23 and March 8), as well as Valentine’s Day (February 14), fell for the first time since at least 2015. This was told to Izvestia by employees of two retail chains. Earlier, according to them, there was an annual increase in the sale of these goods.
So, in late January-early February, sales in physical terms fell by 20-35% compared to the same period in 2022, one of the interlocutors noted. This applies not only to gadgets – first of all, the demand for accessories such as headphones, smart watches, Bluetooth speakers has decreased, says an employee of one of the networks.
Since the beginning of 2023, the sale of smartphones has fallen by 35% in pieces, says a source in another retail chain. People have become less likely to go to stores – hence the decline, he believes.
Year-on-year sales decline occurs in almost all segments of the electronic market, Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group, confirms. In January-early February, demand for smartphones decreased by about 25% compared to the same period in 2022, for TVs – by 20%, for laptops – by 30%, he lists.
Wireless headphones began to be bought 10% less, but the average check in this category amounted to 1.5-2 thousand rubles: the times when expensive Apple AirPods were purchased as a gift are gone, the expert notes. This has not happened since at least the middle of the last decade: on the eve of gender holidays, interest grew by about 5–6% year on year, he says.
The fact that the demand for gifts for the winter-spring holidays is declining, says the CEO of TelecomDaily Denis Kuskov. Many Russian families strive to save money, and gadgets, especially accessories for them, are not essentials. Many refused to buy expensive things as a gift, which they can do without, in favor of more useful and relevant ones, he stressed.
Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:
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p class=”MsoNoSpacing”>On the smartphone of events: demand for gift electronics has decreased in Russia
