PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.–U.S. sales of small appliances reached $15.7 billion in 2007, 4.6 percent ahead of 2006, according to recently released data from The NPD Group.
The industry achieved this gain despite the fact that the nation is in “a consumer recession,” according to Peter Goldman, NPD’s president of home. “Both housewares and small appliances weathered the downturn pretty well last year,” Goldman said in an interview with HFN. “The overall growth was startling given the credit crunch and the subprime mortgage crisis.”
NPD’s figures show that the lion’s share of the small-appliance gain occurred in personal-care products, whose dollar sales rose 10.3 percent last year to $4.8 billion. The numbers also indicate that average selling prices for small appliances rose 4.2 percent in 2007, to $33.13.
Goldman also said four out of five consumers surveyed by NPD said the nation’s economy is in bad shape. In addition, 45 percent of consumers said the tough economy has moved them to change at least one of the retailers where they normally shop.