Better Days on the Horizon for Appliances

Transcript:Better Days on the Horizon for Appliances:
Better Days on the Horizon for Appliances Unadjusted 2017 sales at home appliance stores were $15.535 billion, a 9.7% decrease from 2016’s $17.199 billion. Although the overall economy is strong, US appliance manufacturing is still only approximately half of its total prior to the recession. Unadjusted sales at home appliance stores during the first half of 2018 were “better,” decreasing 2.1%, from $7.757 billion for the first half of 2017 to $7.596 billion. Appliance industry analysts view August 2018’s 9.2% MOM increase in housing starts, as a potential sign appliance manufacturing could still end the year with a 4% increase, which would be a positive trend for retail appliance sales. Some Positive Summer Shipment Totals Are Encouraging Total 2017 major appliances shipments decreased 12% to 4.923 million units from 2016’s 5.595 million units. The four worst categories were, dehumidifiers, -44.2%; room air conditioners, -53.9%; home comfort, -52.9%; and freezers, -37.7%. Gas cooking, at +7.0%, had the largest increase of 2017 shipments, with gas ranges, +8.1%; wall ovens, +4.4%; and surface cooking units, +9.5%, within the gas-cooking category. Dryers, +5.5%, and refrigerators, +4.1%, were the others with increases. Total wholesale shipments increased 2.8% for July 2018, but decreased 1.2% for August 2018. The 6 primary categories – washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers and ranges/ovens – decreased 2.0% for July and another 5.3% for August. Consumers Yet To Embrace Smart Appliances As presented in Media Group Online’s October 2018 Special Report, The Smart Life, most consumers’ experience with smart technology is generally limited to their smartphone and a smart TV, of which 38% of Internet users owned as of January 2018. In the same January 2018 survey from Fluent, just 7% of Internet users said they owned a smart kitchen appliance, which suggests there is an untapped market for the increasing number of smart appliances designed for convenience and other benefits. For example, consumers who own any of Whirlpool’s smart appliances can use Google Assistant to start the dishwasher and Whirlpool refrigerators with an LCD touchscreen allow Amazon Prime members to order food and household items directly. Manufacturing and Retail Success Concentrated at the Top With 19.5% of all refrigerators, washing machines and microwaves sold in the US during 2017, Samsung Electronics was the #1 appliance manufacturer for the second consecutive year, with LG Electronics advancing to #2 with a 15.7% share. Whirlpool’s 15.4% market share forced it from #2 for 2016