Where is the best place to buy electronics in 2024: a Go Ahead study

In 2023, the home appliances and electronics segment became the largest by revenue level in Kazakhstan's e-commerce market. According to Go Ahead's forecasts, it will grow by 45% over the next three years, reaching a revenue volume of $1.39 billion by 2026.

The Go Ahead ecosystem team conducted a market study and analyzed 14 websites and applications to identify key trends, find growth points, and compile a rating of the best services for purchasing home appliances and electronics. This article summarizes all the most interesting findings.

About the Study

The study focuses on the analysis of services selling home appliances and electronics — online stores and marketplaces. This segment was chosen due to its active growth and broad development prospects.

The sample included players from the Forbes list of "45 Largest Online Trading Platforms in Kazakhstan in 2023" that are engaged in the sale of home appliances and electronics.

Home Appliances and Electronics (HAE) is the largest segment of Kazakhstan's e-com market.

Home appliances and electronics account for 32% of the entire e-com market in Kazakhstan. The total revenue of the sector in 2023 was $960 million. If in 2022 the industry stagnated due to market overheating and the aftermath of the pandemic, in 2023 the sector returned to average growth rates of 13% per year. Also, the HAE segment has the highest average check on the e-com market — $208.5.

Despite having the highest revenue, appliances are only the third most popular vertical in Kazakhstan. The top 1 and top 2 positions are occupied by the "clothing" and "luxury goods" categories.  

It is forecast that the HAE market will continue to grow — in 2024, its capacity will increase by almost 17% — to $1.12 billion, and by 2026, total revenue in the segment will reach $1.39 billion. 

User behavior strongly depends on geography and demographics.

User behavior of residents in Kazakhstan differs significantly depending on the region of residence; typically, this is influenced by three parameters:

Climate 

Air conditioners and fans are in high demand in the hot southwestern regions of Kazakhstan. Heaters are more popular in the north of the country, for example, in Astana or the Karaganda region, as well as in Almaty during the off-season. 

Infrastructure 

Dryers are primarily used by residents of megacities, while residents of private sectors have no need for this equipment. Electric stoves are mainly used in regions where gas infrastructure is poorly developed.   

Demographics

In the southern regions of Kazakhstan, the demand for five-burner stoves is higher than in the north, as five to six people usually live in the houses. Also, in the south, stoves are four times more popular than ovens. In Astana, on the contrary, ovens account for 80% and stoves for 20% of the market. Almaty and Astana are leaders in the sale of dishwashers, where salaries are higher and there is less free time for household chores. 

The breakdown of old appliances is the most common reason for buying new ones. 64% of users decide to buy new appliances after their existing ones break down. More than half of buyers purchase them out of necessity, about 40% upgrade devices as they become obsolete, and also about 40% of users buy appliances as gifts. 

When purchasing, 97% of users will choose new appliances over used ones, and 62% of buyers prefer to buy products from the same brand. 

42% of users prefer to buy appliances only online. Smartphones are the most popular item for online purchase. The top 2 spot is taken by home and kitchen appliances, and the top 3 by gadgets such as headphones, smartwatches, or speakers. The least popular categories for online purchase are exercise equipment, automotive equipment, and photo and video equipment. 

67% of users buy appliances online to save time and effort. The ability to compare offers and choose the most profitable one is no less an important factor for online purchase; this is important for 50% of users. The least significant factor in online purchasing turned out to be the ability to install the appliance immediately. 

A wide assortment is the key factor influencing the choice of a service for buying appliances and electronics online, as noted by 50% of users. Buyers want the store's assortment to meet all their needs for choosing home appliances and electronics. Convenience of the application/website, delivery speed, promotions, discounts, bonuses — these are the next most important factors in the choice. 

The mobile application is the main channel for online purchases.

70% of users primarily make purchases using the mobile application. In case of purchase via the web version, most users prefer to use a smartphone rather than a desktop. Therefore, mobile remains the key sales channel for appliances and electronics in Kazakhstan.

In 2023, applications for selling home appliances and electronics were installed 19 million times. This is 17% more than in 2022. 

Almost half of the traffic comes from direct transitions. 

83% of website traffic comes from two main sources: direct transitions — 45% and organic — 38%.

Sites selling home appliances and electronics received 77 million visits in Q4 2023. Of these, 22 million were for online stores, and 55 million for marketplaces.

An average of 770,000 unique users visit HAE sales sites per month.

Users spend an average of four minutes on sites selling home appliances and electronics. During this time, they usually manage to view five pages.

Despite the popularity of mobile, the connection between the mobile application and the website is still weakly developed in the HAE market in Kazakhstan: 

— only 7 out of 14 services invite their clients from the website to mobile applications using links or QR codes, and none using pop-ups upon entry

— for 5 out of 14 companies, the "cart", "favorites", and "order history" sections are not synchronized between the website and the application 

— omnichannel development is insufficient for actively transferring users from the website to the application.

The majority of all purchases in the segment are made on credit or installment. Due to the fact that the HAE segment has the highest average check on the e-com market, a large share of users arrange installments or consumer loans to pay for purchases. 

60% of buyers use credit or installment as the main payment method for appliances. At the same time, 10 out of 12 companies offer the opportunity to purchase on installment or credit and actively highlight this USP in their creative communication.  

Online stores are leaders in acquisition options: users can pay for appliances both online and upon receipt. Marketplaces have fewer purchase options.

The most common payment method is contactless card payment: it is available in 11 out of 12 applications.

The least demanded payment method is cash to the courier. The ability to pay for the order upon receipt is available only to five companies.

Only 3 out of 14 companies offer all payment methods both in the application and on the website.

None of the 14 market players use in-app promotion.

Because in Kazakhstan there is access to main advertising accounts — Google, Facebook, and TikTok, there is no urgent need to actively use in-app traffic, as account-based sources cover most of the market's needs.

6 out of 14 companies use all main promotion channels except for in-app and ASA — Google, Facebook, Yandex, TikTok.

9 out of 14 players buy advertising from bloggers on Instagram.

4 out of 14 services most effectively use creative communication — addressing different target audience groups with different approaches, using several formats of creatives.

Telegram and X are the least demanded promotion channels. Accounts in these social networks are available only to three companies.

Functionality and UX

Basic functions of websites and applications for selling home appliances and electronics are well developed:

— one step is required in all services to reach the cart, catalog, and search

— two steps need to be taken by buyers in some services to get to the section with favorite items and to the screen with user data. 

Despite the good development of basic functions, the first entry requires improvement. Many players have a long and complex registration process. Because of this, the path length from entering the application or website to placing an order averages 11-12 steps.

The main growth point for websites and applications selling home appliances and electronics is the development of customer support: 

— support chat is available only on half of the websites and applications

— an operator in the chat is available only to 3 out of 14 players, and a bot assistant — to 2 out of 14.

To Summarize

The HAE market in Kazakhstan has fully recovered from the COVID crisis, returned to normal growth rates, and will only continue to grow.

User interests strongly depend on demographics and the region where they live. It is important to take this into account in creative communication, for example, using CPP to promote applications in stores.

All advertising traffic in this segment comes from account-based sources, as there is no shortage of inventory on Kazakhstan's e-com market, so managed in-app is not urgently necessary.

The ability to purchase on installment is an important part of services for selling home appliances and electronics.

The main growth point for websites and applications in this segment is the development of functionality and improvement of user experience. Basic functions are at a good level, but features that services could compete on are still lacking.