IFA 2024 – BUSINESS AS USUAL?

IFA Berlin 2024, Europe’s largest consumer electronics show, was as usual full of exciting product announcements showcasing key trends for all to look forward to in the months ahead and beyond. It was another sold-out show celebrating its Centenary with a new image and fresh approach paving the way for the next 100 years ahead. Recording 215,000+ visitors from 138 countries who came to Messe Berlin over the course of 5 days to witness innovation, experience inspiration, and discover the future of tech from over 1,800 exhibitors. Whilst IFA Berlin may have changed considerably since 1924, some may think that 2024 was a deja vu experience.

Ok, so there's a lot of AI on offer from almost every brand stretching and relying on the most tenuous of references to AI in relation to their products. AI aside, it could be considered all a bit the same. Once you've seen one air fryer, you've seen them all and I suspect if you lined up all the air fryers on display in Berlin it would pave a crispy path all the way to London.

However, in all seriousness, IFA remains an essential part of the product life cycle, launching innovation that may have been talked about at CES in January but becomes reality by September for all to marvel and revel in at IFA.

Gekko

The vast majority of innovation ranged from future tech to the present day and reflected various consumer trends, old and new. Naturally, AI was an important feature, with brands aware that consumers are expecting adoption and development. While AI was prevalent, it largely fed into the idea of user convenience with features that centre around making consumers lives easier. These innovations are present predominantly in products like AI-enhanced appliances, where automations are set to enhance efficiency.

The affordable premium trend also continued, with brands responding to people's desire for maximum features and durability at a justifiable price. As the cost of living crisis effects continues, consumers are still looking for access to the best aspirational features from savvy brands. Categories delivering this ethos ranged from phones, foldables, smart home devices, laptops and drones, alongside AV and MDA categories, with consumer-centric innovations which are vital in driving the recovery and development of the consumer electronics industry.

The trends evident at IFA were AI, sustainability, and connectivity. All were linked back to AI, which creates convergent devices that save you time, energy, waste, and money as demonstrated fabulously by those geniuses at Samsung who presented the reality of family life in a real house, with kids, pets, clutter and reflective of how the vast majority of us truly live. Time strapped, cash conscious and tired, needing a little bit of help, whether through your Samsung Jet robotic vacuum that docks or Samsung’s Family Hub AI Vision fridge doors that open by voice command and also scan the dates on your produce to tell you what you need to eat quickly and wait for it, even suggests a recipe using those items on the turn that need to be consumed immediately - in my case usually spring onions. This is CE embracing AI to help consumers make decisions they'd rather not have to make, facilitating our choices and enabling consumers to spend their time and money more astutely.

The new Galaxy ring was particularly impressive and its ability to control your phone and other devices from it, as was the new Galaxy Notebooks and Frame Speaker which for me was the stand-out product. The Frame Speaker is quite simply a brilliant idea. Connect up to five in a room and immerse yourself in surround sound in a discreet and stylish manner. This 45x45x5 frame not only looks great on your wall as decorative art but also sounds truly amazing.

Amongst the noise, there was a lot of mediocre news with some new branding for legacy brands like Hoover & Candy, also this year's on-trend colours for last year's devices from many and even for some, the same stands. On the whole IFA 2024 was business as usual for many of the big brands and a game changer for others. Whilst many established brands did pull it out of the bag successfully, the innovation also came from those start-ups in IFA Next and from the ever-ambitious and increasingly more exciting challenger brands.

Gekko as featured in ERT

Of note is Hisense’s 8K Sonic Screen Laser TV which is a groundbreaking TV that combines 8K resolution with laser projection technology. Its standout feature is the “Sonic Screen,” where sound is emitted directly from the screen itself, creating an immersive audio-visual experience without external speakers. In the world of wearables and health tracking, RingConn Gen 2 was shown off. This is the world’s first ultra-thin smart ring designed with sleep apnea monitoring capabilities. It continuously tracks health metrics like heart rate and sleep patterns, offering advanced insights for sleep health and wellness and integrating with both Apple Health and Google Fit.

Moving into the world of Mobile’s Honor Magic V3 was showcased at IFA 2024, which is their latest foldable smartphone. The Magic V3 boasts the thinnest, sleekest design, top-tier performance, and a flexible display. Next up is Google’s Pixel 9 Pro which is Google’s latest and greatest flagship phone that has a big focus on AI, equipped with the latest AI-driven photography features and a sleek, user-friendly design. It continues Google's legacy of delivering top-tier camera performance and seamless Android integration in three form factors. Moving into the laptop category Acer introduced two new laptops with AI at its core. These two laptops are the Swift 14 AI & Swift 16 AI which are both lightweight, powerful ultrabooks that integrate AI features for enhanced productivity. It’s designed for professionals who need a sleek, portable device that doesn’t compromise on performance, with AI tools embedded for tasks like smart photo editing.

Away from the standard everyday categories, IFA also enables and nurtures new categories to showcase products that initially may be considered niche but eventually become a competitive and growth category copied by many. One such item that may be the next growth category is the Outin Nano portable espresso from the brand Buydeem. It's a hidden gem, with the ability to make coffee on the go with either your favourite ground coffee or the convenience of off-the-shelf pods. It certainly has the potential to be a stocking filler winner, especially for those who enjoy outdoor living and require decent coffee anytime and anywhere.

Another emerging brand with two notable devices that sit within the ‘care’ category is SKG. They offer products that I think could just be what some on the move or at home relaxing may include in their daily schedule. Their E3 Pro Eye Massager is small and whilst not discrete, gives the user full vision transparency enabling the user to see out while no one can see in. It is reasonably priced and offers a heated eye massage to help relax and de-stress. The other is the G7 Pro Fold neck massager which could appear to many to be headphones or a fan positioned around your neck. It actually provides a relaxing massage, with a heated option to soothe knots and muscle tension as you drive or read on the train or bus home after a stressful day at your desk or indeed as you are working from home. Both products sit within the CE category and can fit comfortably into any retailer's product roadmap as self care becomes increasingly more popular across all age groups.

Innovation that was teased at IFA 2024 and will undoubtedly become standard in 2025 is Wireless Power which now rather impressively takes a leap from the smartphone to the smart home. The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) announced its new Ki wireless power transfer standard. It offers a new era of wireless power for the kitchen, eliminating the need for power cords being able to transfer power through granite, quartz, marble and even wood. With manufacturers likely to introduce Ki-compatible wireless kitchen appliance ranges this year, it has the potential to change the way we cook and prepare food in the kitchen. Imagine what a game changer this will be in not only the appliances category but also kitchen design. Midea announced its first range at IFA 2024 and I'm confident many more will follow soon.

So could IFA 2024 signal something of a smart home renaissance? Well maybe. Matter, the smart home protocol aimed at unifying devices from multiple brands, was back in focus with multiple support announcements from key brands. There was also Samsung integrating its smart rings with SmartThings which enables the device to trigger smart home automations, and even robot vacuums that climb stairs. Everyday appliances are becoming more intelligent and increasingly better integrated.

The vast majority of what was on display at IFA 2024 is shipping today or landing very soon and retailers of all specialism will no doubt be ranging a significant proportion of them. So with this in mind, don't take it as business as usual, wait and see approach. Be in the business of surprising and delighting your customers by showcasing new categories and the innovative and appealing new products on offer. Work with your chosen brands to create a customer journey which enhances the brand experience and enables it to pop, full of life and energy to develop categories and create sales.

Real world examples are the best way to sell what some think they may not need or dream about. We don't all live with clean lines, no clutter, kids without toys or muddy pets. The reality is that we are tired, busy humans who occasionally just want to lounge in our homes and speak commands, set timers linked to programmes, be suggested recipes, sleep peacefully, launder at speed, save money and do our bit for the planet. Keep it aspirational but make it real. Put the product into real world scenarios, not merely a magazine dream that maybe doesn't translate to the average consumer?

To read the published article by Daniel Todaro , Gekko Group - Marketing & Experiential Group CEO, please visit ERT