COVID-19 saw consumers' spaces transformed into offices, schools, entertainment centers, as well as a venue for relaxation, amplifying the already-successful homeware market. Even as vaccines roll out globally, this market will continue to prosper with remote working now the norm alongside the unrestricted ability to entertain family and friends indoors.
According to Allied Market Research, the global homeware industry was valued at $616.6 bn in 2019 and forecasted to reach $838.6 bn by 2027. In the next three years, the US market alone is projected to grow 20%. This creates a lucrative opportunity for traditional retailers to embrace market intelligence to challenge the growing number of fast fashion brands evolving into lifestyle businesses.
This is where the EDITED Market Intelligence Platform can help.
One of the greatest challenges traditional homeware retailers face is losing market share to digitally agile fashion-first retailers evolving into lifestyle brands and acting as a "one-stop-shop" for consumers. These businesses have the infrastructure to drop products more frequently and offer smaller, more competitively-priced goods that appeal to Generation Rent's budget and aesthetic. To be competitive, retailers need to invest in retail data to nail the optimal product, pricing and promotion strategies.
Key takeaways:
• Arrivals are still reeling from the effects of the pandemic - down 24% YoY overall. Lifestyle brands have managed to continue to bring in newness by concentrating on home accessories. These businesses saw a 104% increase in homewares and over half of their online stock sits within the aforementioned category.
• Traditional homeware brands are more invested in living room products, which are usually bigger and bulkier. This affected their ability to deliver new products rapidly to keep up with more agile competitors.
• Despite reshaping their pricing architecture for home accessories to be more competitive, traditional retailers are still more expensive on average than lifestyle brands for key items such as artificial plants, candles and cushions.
• Traditional retailers have missed an opportunity to keep consumers constantly engaged by investing in home accessories that can be shipped at a faster rate and sold at a lower price point.
For more insight into succeeding in the homeware market in 2021 and beyond, download the free EDITED Homeware Ecommerce Playbook.
