OREANDA-NEWS. The German research company Gfk conducted the assessment of Azerbaijani market of IT and consumer electronics for the first time, Gfk Ukraine analyst Andriy Osadchy said.

According to him, retail will act as the main supplier of information to evaluate the market, on the basis of which it will be possible to present a detailed picture of sales in a given segment. In order to participate in this project, the retailer has to share business information, that is, to transfer sales data, and in sufficient detail.

"We expect these actions from Azerbaijani retailers; otherwise we would not be here. It is impossible to talk about retail being insufficiently transparent and the existence of certain concerns, as these concerns are actually present in all markets, and from this point of view Azerbaijan is not unique. Almost no one is prepared, for whatever reasons, to share information with third parties. The basic principle of our work is data privacy. Accordingly, data provided by the particular retailer is not disclosed under any circumstances," Osadchy said.

Market of the South Caucasus (with population of over 16 million people), according to the expert, is of particular importance for the producers. Economies of countries, according to Osadchy, allow people to make purchases. For comparison, the GDP per capita in the South Caucasus region is higher than in Ukraine. In addition, the importance of the market in the region is not only in its scale, but also in the dynamics of economic development. According to Osadchy, the market of the South Caucasus will be developing for a long time and at high rates.
According to Osadchy, the reason for that is relatively low saturation of the retail market and relatively low level of penetration of products among the population.

"Roughly speaking, all families have a refrigerator, but not all have a modern TV or smartphone. Accordingly, these products have not yet been bought by people. This, perhaps, is the importance of the region, which is why the markets of the South Caucasus will be growing and will maintain high growth rates. Manufacturers, in turn, will need to sell more, and not to focus on markets that are growing from year to year. For example, the European market has almost frozen," he said.

According to the expert, the consumers of regional markets prefer spending money on technology and IT-gadgets. Replacing a laptop or smartphone, according to Osadchy, occurs more often than replacing a washing machine or refrigerator.

Among the negative factors that have a direct impact on consumer sentiment, Osadchy calls overall economic sentiment. According to him, the demand may be created and promoted.
"An example is given by the successful brands able to produce a product that everyone wants. However, it all depends on how confident the person is about future, and how much he is willing to spend money on a new purchase, including an urgent one. For example, one can do without a new TV, but he can not do without a refrigerator," Osadchy said.