In the first three months of 2015 the market saw percentage falls in market value.
The latest report from market analysts GfK showed that the UK office markets product – including toner and inkjet cartridges – saw 0.1, 2.6 and 1.8 percent declines in the first three months of 2015. The Recycler previously reported on GfK’s figures for December 2014 and October 2014, with the sector previously enjoying six consecutive months of percentage growth in value.
The IT market, which includes printers and MFDs, has recovered somewhat from a 13.4 percent decline in market value in December 2014, with only three, 2.2 and 4.2 percent falls in market value in 2015. The durables market (including both office and IT products) saw offline sales continue to present negative results of one percent and five percent declines since the start of the year, while online sales rose as high as six percent in February, maintaining growth of two percent in March.
In the office market specifically, online sales saw a six percent growth year-over-year as offline sales fell by four percent, while IT saw negative results of three percent and five percent declines in both online and offline sectors. The two sectors saw declines in chain store purchases of four and five percent (office and IT respectively), though office saw a growth in value in independent retailers of eight percent, contrasted with IT’s decline of one percent.