Aspirational products reflect change in customer habits and provide greater sales opportunities says Erol Sukan, business group director within GfK Retail and Technology.
Whilst there has been considerable press coverage about poor times for the retail trade, the consumer durables markets continue to perform well in both the short and long term.

In the main, these non-food markets are technology led and our kitchen markets compete with many aspirational products such as flat panel televisions (one sold every two seconds in December 2007) and taking some of the gifting away were digital convergence products such as mobile phones (1million sold the week before Christmas!).

These markets often use new technology to combat price deflation, for example planned releases of higher memory MP3 players.

The types of products in the kitchen being developed and marketed these days are a reflection of the change in habits in Britain.

Consumers are more health aware than ever before and experiencing a wider variety of foods in restaurants as well as in the supermarkets and this is reflected in the types of kitchen products being purchased from side-by-side refrigerators (20% of value of all cooling) to smoothie makers (30% of blenders).

Cookware

The UK cookware market has seen 15% year-on-year growth with more than 19 million units sold per annum. There has also been a shift in where consumers are purchasing their cookware and this shift is part of the contributor to price polarisation in the market.

The internet (25% growth year-on-year) and supermarkets (one in four purchases) are two examples of how important totally different strategies are essential for successful multi-channel retailing.

Whereas supermarkets have been offering value product to change the mindset of consumers over time to make them a destination store for a considered purchase, the internet is viewed by consumers as the route for the latest specialist products with the latest features, which in turn results in higher average prices being paid online!

Ongoing opportunities certainly exist for specialist products along side consumer interest in different cooking behaviours, provided timing and route to market is maximised.

Erol Sukan is a business group director within GfK Retail and Technology. He has more than five years experience working closely with retailers and manufacturers within the kitchens sector.

Mr Sukan advises GfK's extensive client list about consumer behaviour and trends occurring on the high street and in online trading environments, aiding decisions about product ranges, marketing and merchandising.