International Housewares Association Releases State of the Industry Report

ROSEMONT, ILL. (June 18, 2025)— The new IHA State of the Industry MarketOutlook report released today indicates that home and housewares should continue to be a key driver of general merchandise sales in 2025. The report, detailing consumer purchase intent and the factors influencing buying plans, was published today on IHA’s independent news and information platform, HomePageNews.com.

“At a time marked by so much uncertainty, MarketOutlook offers some clarity to home and housewares suppliers and retailers in their product development, marketing and merchandising strategies,” said Derek Miller, IHA president & CEO. “This survey also underscores the ongoing resilience of the housewares business, which has historically proven to be resistant to economic uncertainty.”

The report divides the home and housewares industry into 15 categories and offers in-depth insight on which products consumers expect to purchase in 2025, key factors influencing buying plans, and the most likely retail channels for these purchases. The survey also reveals how much more (if at all) consumers are willing to pay for different types of products.

Top-Level Findings

Survey results indicate that the home and housewares business is likely to continue with a pattern of resilience in 2025. The number of respondents who said they are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to buy products in 10 of the report’s 15 categories is at or above 50%.

The MarketOutlook results also underscore the elevated role of wellness – and the significant impact on consumers’ home lives. The three categories with more than 30% of respondents saying they are “very likely” to buy in 2025 are home health care (34%), cleaning tools (33%) and personal care (32%).

When it comes to purchase motivation, replacement remains the leading driver across nearly all categories. The highest rates can be found in cleaning tools (50%), personal care (42%), bakeware (42%), kitchen tools (42%), cookware (41%), flatware (41%) and home health care (41%). 

Category-Specific Findings

MarketScope features in-depth data for each category on a variety of topics including overall purchase intent, top products, factors motivating purchases, preferred materials, preferred shopping channels and the impact of pricing increases.

A sample of category-specific findings include:

Cleaning tools lead in overall purchase intent, with 70% of respondents indicating plans to buy these items in 2025. But the category’s longstanding commodity positioning might explain why 40% of consumers said they won’t pay more for them, despite constant, helpful innovation.

Kitchen electrics are a research-intensive category. When it comes to top products, air fryers are the most popular (38%), followed by toaster ovens (30%) and toasters (24%).

Replacement remains a key reason for cookware purchases (41%), but 19% of consumers cite updated features such as nonstick technology or induction compatibility as a top motivator. When it comes to nonstick, ceramic is preferred by a factor of almost two-to-one.

Air purifiers are by far the most in-demand products in home environment (45%). Portable fans (33%) and water filters (32%) follow.

When it comes to kitchen tools, there’s a high preference for stainless steel (53%) – likely a reflection of how important durability and easy cleaning are in food prep – and a growing preference for natural materials like bamboo and wood.

2025 IHA State of the Industry Report

The 2025 IHA State of the Industry report is the home and housewares industry’s first total market research report examining U.S. retail sales volume by category, retail sales percentages by channel, consumer purchase intent by category, and consumer lifestyle values and drivers. The report is being published in three installments:

MarketScope (published in May)—Market sales data on the total U.S. housewares business and key housewares categories, as well as sales by retail channel. Data available through IHA’s partnership with market research and analytics firm Circana.

MarketOutlook (released today)—A detailed look at consumer purchase intent over the next year, as well as the key product features, benefits and other factors consumers expect to direct their purchase decisions. Features exclusive data commissioned by IHA from Morning Consult.

MarketWatch (available in July)—In-depth analysis of the primary values and trends influencing consumer attitudes, behaviors and home lifestyle preferences. Features exclusive data commissioned by IHA from Springboard Futures. 

Complete Data and Methodology

MarketOutlook’s consumer survey was conducted for IHA by Morning Consult among a sample of 2,200 adults. The interviews were conducted online, and the results are weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on age, gender, race, educational attainment, region, gender by age and race by education level. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points. 

The 15 categories analyzed are bakeware, cookware, kitchen tools, drinkware, dinnerware, flatware, kitchen electrics, home storage & organization, personal care, home environment, cleaning tools, floor care electrics, luggage & travel goods, outdoor living and home health.