Online Purchase of Higher End Consumer Goods Still Low, Says NPD

Port Washington, NY, July 23, 2018-More U.S. consumers are purchasing home-products online, according to The NPD Group, a global information company, though only around 2% of consumers bought higher priced major home appliances through e-commerce in 2017. 

While in-store sales still dominate with approximately two-thirds of dollar sales across the primary home-products industries, the percentage of the online buyers who are purchasing small home appliances, housewares, home textiles, and major home appliances is on the rise. 

Between 17% and 20% of the U.S. online buying population purchased home textiles, housewares, and small appliances online in 2017. NPD’s Checkout E-Commerce Tracking, which is based on information collected from more than three million consumers through data provided by NPD’s partner Slice Intelligence, reveals that each of these segments grew when compared to 2016.

“E-commerce is an increasingly important part of the home industry’s channel strategy,“ said Joe Derochowski, executive director and home industry analyst at NPD.“As consumer expectations around convenience, product assortment, and value elevate, so will our industry’s online opportunities.”

Although people are buying more for their homes online, products for the home are not ones purchased as frequently through e-commerce as compared to other industries. Online buyers only purchased small appliances, housewares, and home textiles products online an average of two times in 2017, and major appliances once – leaving room for growth for both manufacturers and retailers to get shoppers to purchase more frequently.

“The equation for success goes beyond a traditional view of brick vs. click-it’s about understanding how to reach more buyers, get them to buy with more frequency, and give them a reason to spend more on what they purchase,“ added Derochowski.“Regardless of channel, we need to focus on innovative products, and innovative approaches.”

NPD tracks the apparel, appliance, automotive, beauty, books, connected intelligence, consumer electronics, diamond, entertainment, e-commerce, fashion accessory, food consumption, foodservice, footwear, home, juvenile product, mobile, office supply, retail, sport, , technology, information technology, b2b technology, toy, travel retail, video game and watches/jewelry industries.