A GROWING CPG MARKET

The popularity of "smart" tech is driving most of the growth in household goods.

It’s good to be in the household products industry right now. The category is growing at a faster pace than most of its CPG counterparts, like electronics and apparel, and much of that growth can be attributed to increasingly popular and profitable smart home products. According to research conducted by NPD Group, 1 in 5 US consumers own a smart speaker and at least one smart home product. Instead of developing your own standalone digital home ecosystem, brands should develop tech products that integrate with popular smart home operating systems that already exist. Consumers savvy enough to set up smart homes crave a seamless experience across product categories; the smart ceiling fan should be operable in the same OS as the smart garage, for example. 

Another interesting trend taking place in household goods is the increasing average selling price (ASP) of small appliances. Stick vacuums on average cost 12% more than they did one year ago, and countertop coffee makers are up 17%. Experts believe that the next big wave of household innovations will occur in the kitchen; consider the sous vide, the Instant Pot, and of course the Keurig as examples of innovation happening in the heart of the home. This growth is expected to continue, and manufacturers within this space should be considering what role their products could play in this evolving market long-term.