[CNBC]

The consumer electronics market in Western Europe will recover in the second half of 2011 from the significant deterioration it witnessed in the first six months, when sales declined by 11.3 percent year-on-year, market research company GfK said in a new report. …

…consumers became increasingly unsettled by the euro zone debt crisis and spent cautiously.

The drop in sales in the first six months of 2011 was also attributable to the absence of major sporting events, GfK said.

The introduction of HDTV, 3D and internet-capable TVs has so far not been able to prevent a downward trend in TV sales, although the average price of a TV set has declined by 7 percent in comparison with the first half of 2010 and by 39 percent for 3D TVs, GfK said.

GfK, the world’s fourth-largest market research organization, expects sales of 3D televisions to take off in 2011, forecasting that 6.4 million units will be sold in Western Europe in 2011.

That compares with one million units sold in Western Europe in 2010. …

Read the full story here: http://www.cnbc.com/id/44390672