The Industry Gears Up to Showcase Innovation at IFA Berlin

Global leading brands from the domestic appliances industry have already booked more than 80% of its available exhibition space at this year’s IFA Berlin, the first full-scale return of the world’s leading consumer and electronics and home appliances show in two years.

IFA Berlin is set to take place as a full-scale real-life event from 3-7 September 2021. The brands coming to Berlin want to support people in a world that is currently redefining the relationship between work and home, and offer them the home comforts they crave. For the industry, the home also now extends into the balcony and garden, which have become integral parts of our daily lives. Predictably, the health and wellness sector is just as interested in coming to IFA Berlin 2021. Consumers are health-conscious, active like never before and looking for solutions that help them maintain their physical and mental health and well-being.

“The past 12 months have completely redefined the relationship between people and their homes. They have changed how we eat and live, what we expect from our kitchens and all the other home comforts that we need and want,“ says Jens Heithecker, IFA Executive Director and Executive Vice President of Messe Berlin. “We have seen a significant increase in consumer demand across many home appliances segments, large and small. However, our world is now emerging from the pandemic, and already there are first signs of a subtle but marked evolution of what people expect from their homes. As always, innovation is anticipating, supporting and driving these trends. That’s why this year’s IFA is so important: It will be a showcase for the technologies that will allow us to live our best work and home lives in the years ahead.

"Due to the changes in the past year, our homes have experienced a digitalization boost that creates long-term impulses for the technology markets. The need to work at home coupled with the desire for better cooking and cleaning, has attracted a lot of consumer investment over the past few months. These are also expected for 2021 however, due to the strong fluctuations in 2020, volatile sales developments in the market for large and small domestic appliances are still to be expected. Globally, this grew by around 5 percent in 2020, with some regions of the world, such as Europe, recording significantly more dynamic growth of 11 percent", added Michael Mueller, President Northern, Central and Eastern Europe for GfK.

During the most recent full-scale event, in 2019, IFA Berlin welcomed 238,700 visitors, 1,930 industry partners and 5,360 journalists, all coming from more than 130 countries and territories. Last year’s special edition of IFA Berlin, a tightly controlled, three-day real-life event, amplified and extended by a virtual exhibition space, had 145,900 visitors onsite and online, with 1,570 industry partners participating and 10,750 journalists following the event. The special edition attracted visitors from 100 countries and territories.