Consumers spent more than $47 billion on small appliances, non-electric housewares products and home fashions in 2014, according to market research company The NPD Group.
This nearly half-a-billion-dollar increase in spending, a 1 percent increase over 2013 home-product sales, continued the growth trajectory begun in 2013, when the industry grew by 4 percent. Sales of small kitchen appliances, bed, bath and home fashions products buoyed the industry in 2014, while most non-electric housewares continued to struggle.
“Inspiration, innovation and simplification influenced consumers and product performance throughout the home in 2014,” said Debra Mednick, executive director and home industry analyst for NPD. “Following a year of aspirational motivation in 2013, which came on the heels of challenging economic times, consumers have adjusted their attitude to a less emotional, more practical one when it comes to equipping and furnishing their homes – looking to products that deliver on a new look or feel, or a new approach to performing everyday tasks.”
Overall sales performance dynamics shifted across the home-products industries in 2014. The trade-up trend was still relevant in categories like blenders, where high-performance models are still popular and on the rise. However, beverage products overall lost some fizzle and steam in 2014, as categories like single-serve brewing systems experienced sales declines for the first time in years, as did the total coffee maker category. Sales of juicers, home soda machines and the related consumables softened, creating a drag on overall industry growth. Non-electric housewares continues to be the most challenged home industry, with more decline spanning across most categories, despite positive results in November 2014 sales. Cookware, the largest non-electric category at more than $2 billion in sales in 2014, gave back some of its 2013 unit and dollar sales growth.
In terms of home fashions, the attention appears to have moved toward more formal but functional products; categories like table linens grew significantly as kitchen linens declined, and bed covers grew in double digits while bed ensembles remained flat.
“Consumer sentiment will continue to evolve and impact consumer behavior as external dynamics change, and the trends born among home products in 2014 will continue to mature through 2015,” said Mednick. “The home-products industry will see continued success by paying attention to the changing mindset of consumers, but more importantly by helping to shape their desires and demands. New products alone are no longer the answer; capturing the consumer now requires finding a new approach to engagement and messaging for products new and old.”
