Since 2003, price erosion has remained a key feature of the microwave ovens market with excessive price promotions adversely affecting market values over the review period. It is likely, however, that prices have levelled off in the latter part of 2004, especially in the basic solo oven sector, where entry level prices fell to below £25 in 2004, with little scope to substantially reduce prices further.
Prices may still fall in the higher priced combination oven sector in 2005, partly to encourage consumers to trade up from basic machines and partly because prices have not fallen as much as in other sectors so far.
Contents
Introduction and Abbreviations
Definition
Consumer research
Lifestage and Special Groups
ACORN
Advertising data
Abbreviations
Executive Summary
Profits slide in microwave sector
Market polarisation?
Own-label brands rise as prices fall
Main media expenditure remains negligible
Supermarkets bullish in microwave sales
Is the market saturated?
Future prospects
Market Drivers
Rise of the one-person household
- Figure 1: UK households and one-person households, 2000-09
Women in the workplace
- Figure 2: UK workforce in employment, by gender, 2000-09
Growth of ready meals
- Figure 3: UK indexed retail sales of ready meals, by type, by value, 2000-04
Food scrutiny could threaten market
Fragmented mealtimes
- Figure 4: Agreement with the statement are rarely sit down to a meal together at home・ 1997-2004
Cash-rich consumers continue to spend
- Figure 5: PDI and consumer expenditure, at constant 2000 prices, 2000-09
Demographics ・consumer research
- Figure 6: Trends and projections in UK population, by age group, 2000-09
Boosting ownership among over-65s
Market Size and Trends
- Figure 7: Retail sales of microwave ovens, 2000-05
Lost value
Solo sales dominate
- Figure 8: Retail sales of microwave ovens, by type, by volume and value, 2000-04
NPD for the combination sector
Market Segmentation
Solo/compact microwave ovens
Focus on solo
- Figure 9: UK retail sales of solo/compact microwave ovens, 2000-04
Commodity trends
Grill microwave ovens
- Figure 10: UK retail sales of grill microwave ovens, 2000-04
Glossing over the grills
Combination microwave ovens
- Figure 11: UK retail sales of combination microwave ovens, 2000-04
Promising premiums
The Supply Structure
Brand shares
- Figure 12: Brand shares in the UK microwave ovens market, by volume, 2002 and 2004
Companies and brands
Alba plc
Daewoo Electronics Sales UK
LG Electronics
Panasonic UK Ltd
Samsung UK Ltd
Sanyo UK Sales Ltd
Sharp Electronics UK Ltd
Other companies
Advertising and Promotion
Panasonic dominates
- Figure 13: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on microwave ovens at rate card cost, 1999-2004
Distribution
Electrical multiples still dominate
- Figure 14: UK retail distribution of microwave ovens, by type of outlet, by volume, 2002 and 2004
- Figure 15: UK retail distribution of microwave ovens, by type of outlet, by value, 2004
Electrical versus grocery
Grocery multiples pushing on prices
Internet and mail order shopping
The Consumer
- Figure 16: Trends in GB household ownership of microwave ovens, 1998-2004
The age divide
- Figure 17: Trends in GB household ownership of microwave ovens, by age group, 2004
A family affair
- Figure 18: Trends in GB household ownership of microwave ovens, by household size, 2004
Not a cost concern
No cooking ・the ultimate convenience
Attitudes towards cooking and eating
- Figure 19: Agreement with the statement are rarely sit down to a meal together at home・ 1997-2004
- Figure 20: Agreement with the statement they dont have time to spend preparing and cooking food・ 1997-2004
Changing perceptions of cooking
Exclusive consumer research
- Figure 21: Attitudes towards cooking, 2000-05
16% claim to be regular microwave users
Sticking with tradition
Declining ability
Speed is of the essence
Regular microwave users older and less affluent
Older respondents the most traditional
Upmarket families most keen to experiment
Time too precious for some to cook from scratch
Working families most reliant on convenience foods
Hob users and weekend cooks
Usage patterns
- Figure 22: Microwave usage, February 2005
Core use
Minor usage
The Consumer ・Detailed Demographics
- Figure 23: Household ownership of microwave ovens, by gender, age, socio-economic group, presence of children, marital status, working status and household size, 2004
- Figure 24: Household ownership of microwave ovens, by region, lifestage, Mintels Special Groups and home ownership, 2004
- Figure 25: Agreement with the statements are rarely sit down to a meal together at home and they dont have time to spend preparing and cooking food・ by gender, age, socio-economic group, presence of children, marital status and working status,
- Figure 26: Agreement with the statements are rarely sit down to a meal together at home・and they dont have time to spend preparing and cooking food・ by household size, region, lifestage and Mintels Special Groups, 2004
- Figure 27: Attitudes towards cooking, by gender, age, socio-economic group, region, ACORN categories, marital status, working status, tenure and household size, February 2005
- Figure 28: Attitudes towards cooking, by presence of children, lifestage, Mintels Special Groups, media usage, commercial TV viewing and supermarkets used, February 2005
- Figure 29: Attitudes towards cooking, by gender, age, socio-economic group, region, ACORN categories, marital status, working status, tenure and household size, February 2005
- Figure 30: Attitudes towards cooking, by presence of children, lifestage, Mintels Special Groups, media usage, commercial TV viewing and supermarkets used, February 2005
The Future
Prices now at rock bottom?
Replacement market key to success
Market polarisation likely to remain
Ready meal growth should sustain market
Back to basics
Health scares
Recycling issues
Supermarkets and non-specialist retailers dominate bottom end
Demographic factors
Forecast
Market value to decline
- Figure 45: Forecast of the market for the microwave ovens, by value, 2005-10
Promotional push to drive volumes
- Figure 46: Forecast of the market for the microwave ovens, by volume, 2005-10
