For many years, IFA was considered an absolute sensation. With the arrival of the Corona pandemic, much has changed. The interest among visitors, and now also among major exhibitors and manufacturers has declined significantly. In 2019, as already mentioned, there were about a quarter of a million visitors to Messer. In 2020, as part of the hybrid event, figures of about 80,000 online visitors are circulating. Due to the high incidence numbers, the trade show dropped out entirely in 2021. With the 161,000 visitors from this year, there is a clear downward trend. Many exhibitors reported new contacts made, business relationships and some deals worth mentioning. Big names such as; Sony, Phillips, Panasonic, Telekom or Microsoft either booked smaller halls and booths this year, could only be found for dealers or were not represented at the show at all. These are already clear signs of a downward trend.

Of course, inflation also plays a big role here. Let's look at the companies dealing with consumer electronics - in the first pandemic year, the industry was still booming completely. People are currently talking about a decline of -2.5% to -4.5%. 'The growth from 2020 is steadily decreasing. The culprit is high inflation, immensely rising energy prices and stagnating wages. This explains the general uncertainty and falling consumer sentiment. In addition, there are delivery problems due to the lack of chips and logistical difficulties caused by the pandemic. It remains exciting around the topic IFA - one can currently only assume in which framework will continue. According to rumors, the organizers are already looking for new concepts and solutions to implement the event.