"Many obstacles still need to be overcome, but used products can arrive at MediaMarkt already at the end of this year," indicated Gábor Szilágyi, the store chain's managing director, during a background discussion on Friday.
He said that although this will make certain products cheaper, the focus is not on that, but on reducing the environmental burden to a minimum.
Last October, Gábor Szilágyi, the managing director of MediaMarkt, stated that 2023 is the year of sobering up. However, the wind changed in the first quarter of this year, and signs of recovery are already visible, albeit at a slow pace for the time being.
Inflation, falling real wages and soaring food prices worsened the outlook, GDP fell by 0.8 percent last year even though agriculture suffered in the third quarter
he reminded. The retail sector is one of the most significant contributors to GDP, which also declined. The prospects did not improve in January, consumers' mood was perceived as depressed. The fact that wage increases did occur, but these could not keep up with the increase in the cost of living, played a decisive role in the deterioration of the outlook. According to the majority, the economic situation in Hungary has worsened, this also depends on the assessment of their individual financial situation, but they trust that this will turn around.
There is a chance to break out of the one-year apathy and pessimism
- says Gábor Szilágyi. This is based on the fact that although retail turnover decreased from January to February, it increased by 1.1 percent on an annual basis. They also see online searches, and it's not as bad as last year, when they saw a double-digit drop in traffic.
The most important aspect for Hungarians is the price
In its own research, MediaMarkt measured which aspects customers consider most important during their purchases.
The price is the first, followed by the usability, the function - the brand is only in the umpteenth place
- revealed from the survey. At the same time, Gábor Szilágyi noted that customers see technical products as an investment, in this field, in addition to price, function and usability come to the fore compared to food. According to his experience, the demand for their own brand products is also increasing, which he claims: they know the same as the big brands, but you can get them at a more favorable price, so they are better value for money. "It's going to be Glamor weekend now, we'll see how it goes," she said. In the case of technical products, according to their own survey, several aspects came to the fore:
• energy awareness: customers are looking for devices that are a long-term investment, so the stock of "A" category products has been strengthened,
• environmental awareness: the demand for used and environmentally friendly products has increased, so MediaMarkt will also offer used goods within the foreseeable future.
"Used products are increasingly appearing in online searches, there is a lot of openness in this direction, especially in the category of laptops, mobile phones and TVs"
– Norbert Magyar, the company's commercial director, has already highlighted this.
MediaMarkt puts used products on the shelf
Since there is a great demand for it, MediaMarkt also offers used products. The technical chain has not yet set a target date, because the parts necessary for the system's operation must accumulate, but when asked by Index, Gábor Szilágyi indicated that the used products could be in the stores already at the end of this year.
These are practically the included products that customers bring in and MediaMarkt refurbishes and resells in its own system. Any product that counts does not have to be from MediaMarkt.
In addition to used products, there is also the option of complete renovation (refurbish) and product update, in Hungarian, for example, we can take our damaged phone or laptop into the stores and they will repair it. "With this, the life cycle of the products can be extended by 2-3 years, which is more environmentally friendly than buying a new one." Even in this case, the system can be set up after overcoming many challenges, a target date has not yet been set.
If you want to buy a used product or refurbish your own, we will help people with this. We try to encourage our customers to consume consciously
- explained Norbert Magyar, emphasizing that this can obviously reduce the environmental burden caused by shopping. Product buyback is already available, but as we wrote earlier, the complete renovation and the sale of used products still have to wait.
Gábor Szilágyi also made a big announcement: the 40th MediaMarkt will open in Eger at the end of May.
At the end of August, they will move to a new, renewable energy warehouse in Ecser, and the online platform will also be redesigned. B2B (business to business) trade for businesses is also being strengthened, and they can browse the offers on a separate online interface.
Hit products and soccer
"The European football championship and the Olympics will also appear in the TV business, but football will be the driving force," said Norbert Magyar. The commercial director of the tech chain expects that significantly more people will be looking for TVs. At the same time, he noted that although many people still watch TV in Hungary, young people are increasingly watching programs and movies via smartphones and other devices. The commercial manager also gave an insight into what are currently the best-selling products in MediaMarkt.
• Solar generators related to energy efficiency and savings, the advantage of which is that they can cover the entire capacity of a weekend house with a single charge, with practically zero emissions.
• In addition, e-mobility is on the rise after last year's stagnation: this includes scooters and electric mobility devices.
• And of course, the Air Fryer, which promotes healthier cooking, cannot be left out of the list, which is still a hit product in technical stores.
About the Air Fryer, the commercial director said that it does not provide what it should in a certain price category. "Cheap devices are not efficient enough, we get a lot of negative feedback about them." However, they sell well in terms of value and number of pieces, but at the same time, according to the director, it is worth looking at this product in the higher price category. In summary, MediaMarkt executives said the outlook has improved and there is increasingly light at the end of the retail tunnel.
Featured image: MTI Photo / Tamás Kovács
