Refrigeration Appliances in the United Kingdom

2021 DEVELOPMENTS

Freezers sees a decline in 2021, after a renaissance during the first lockdown

Freezers saw tremendous growth in 2020, as homebound consumers looked for extra appliances to store food, reflecting home seclusion, fear of shortages and the uptake in cooking at home. Growth was specifically seen by freestanding freezers, with consumers looking for extra units for food storage.

Freestanding appliances sees normalisation in 2021

In addition to freezers, freestanding fridges and fridge-freezers also saw a boost to their sales during the pandemic. As consumers looked for ways to store more food and spent more time in kitchens, many replaced their existing appliances with larger capacity models.

Average unit price grows due to premiumisation and rising manufacturing and transportation costs

The average unit price has seen a strong increase across refrigeration appliances categories in 2021, following a trend that started in 2020. The costs of raw materials continued to increase in 2021, and also due to disruption of supply chains, manufacturers adjusted the retail prices of end products to a certain degree.

PROSPECTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Electric wine coolers/chillers expected to continue to thrive

Electric wine coolers/chillers are slowly becoming more common in UK households, with 2020 growth strongly contributing to the rise in penetration. The growth in 2020, with sales mostly maintained in 2021, was supported as many UK consumers focused on outdoor entertainment, due to the health threat and the closure of foodservice outlets during certain periods.

Housing market and replacement purchases likely to limit the decline of refrigeration appliances

Largely, categories within refrigeration appliances (except electric wine coolers/chillers) are likely to see a normalisation of demand in the forecast period, resulting in modest volume declines. Uptake in purchases in 2020 and 2021 is expected to slow down growth, seeing mostly replacement purchases, as many UK consumers already upgraded their appliances and invested in household appliances throughout the pandemic.

Refrigeration capacity, keeping food fresher for longer and energy efficiency top of consumers’ wish lists

The pandemic served as a boost to some already existing trends within refrigeration appliances in the UK, and many of these are expected to stay at the top of consumers’ mind in the forecast period. Firstly, stay-at-home and flexible working arrangements have reiterated the importance of food storage space, and larger capacity refrigeration appliances are expected to continue growing in popularity.