gfu Kicks Off IFA 2020 Special Edition with Insights and Trends

One day before the official start of IFA 2020 Special Edition, gfu Consumer & Home Electronics held a special event Insights & Trends. Company representatives and guests presented study that shows significant changes in terms of shopping behavior, work and education, leisure time and digitalization due to the corona pandemic.

Important trend topics are home schooling, home office and the increasing importance of home electronics. Representatives from the consumer and home electronics and related industries, from the retail sector and from media and science provided insights into the corona situation in Germany. Speakers said that no other event in recent history has changed the lives of people worldwide as drastically as the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. Terms such as lockdown, home schooling, compulsory masks, contact restrictions, and social distancing, which were almost never heard of just a couple of months ago, have become part of our everyday language.

This pandemic is not just about the spread of a virus and its associated health risks. It has also had an extensive impact on the economy, our lives and society as a whole. For some industries, the impact is critical, threatening their existence. While other sectors are coping better with the consequences, or may even be able to profit from the circumstances. The relatively slow pace of digitalization prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, for example, has been significantly sped up. While home based work was previously the exception, this is now part of the “new normal.“