According to Progressive Housewares’ latest Retail Barometer survey, eco-friendly products were the biggest growing sector for indie cookshops and housewares retailers.
The eco-friendly products category saw an increase in sales for 56% of respondents, with only 22% seeing a decline in sales, matching the retailers’ view that sustainability is increasing as a factor in buying decisions.
Glassware saw an increase for 50% of retailers, in a similar picture to 2021, when 61% saw an upturn in sales. While 38% saw an increase for barware, a sharp fall from last year.
Entertaining at home seems to be a continuing trend, however, as we battle to keep costs low in the face of the cost-of-living crisis. Casual dining sales increased for half of all retailers surveyed.
Cookware took a slight decline, as a third saw a downturn in sales, and only 22% saw growth. And the strength of knives in 2021 tailed off as only 11% saw an increase in sales, although 56% said sales had remained stable.
SDAs saw stable sales for 38%, while only a quarter saw an upturn in sales. Other stable categories included stainless steel cookware, cast iron cookware, children’s products and oven-to-tableware.
While the pandemic created a generation of bakers, creating a huge increase in sales for the past two years, but it seems that bakeware’s moment in the spotlight has come to an end. Only 10% of retailers saw an increase in the sector in 2022, while 30% saw a decline.
The sector experiencing the biggest downturn in sales was cake decorating, with 63% reporting a decline and only 25% experiencing growth.
