Port Washington, NY, April 2, 2008 – According to a new report from The NPD Group, Inc., leading provider of consumer and retail information, unit sales of black refrigerators, washing machines, clothes dryers, and ranges all grew in 2007, as did dollar sales, in most cases. Additionally, this research shows that black has taken market share away from white, except in dishwashers. Despite the sluggish economy, stainless steel appliances, with their higher price points continue to show impressive growth in most major appliance categories.
“Even though stainless steel and white still have larger shares of the major appliance market overall, black is certainly moving up, as off-white seems to have fallen off the consumer’s radar,” said Mark Delaney, a director for NPD’s Home services.
| Unit Percent Changes of Colored Major Appliances: 2007 vs. 2006 | |||||
| Appliances Colors | Refrigerators | Dishwashers | Washing Machines | Clothes Dryers | Ranges |
| White | -7% | 7% | flat | -1% | -11% |
| Black | 13% | -12% | 113% | 59% | 19% |
| Off White | -15% | -11% | -34% | -33% | -5% |
| Stainless | flat | 43% | 19% | 36% | 24% |
| Other | -25% | -68% | 34% | 43% | 52% |
| Source: The NPD Group / Consumer Tracking Service | |||||
According to this new NPD research, colors such as red, blue, and green are showing big growth and commanding some of the top price points among the various color options - particularly in laundry. The movement away from the crisp, white laundry room is evident as sales of white laundry appliances is flat or down slightly in these categories.
“Latest trends in home design points toward the laundry room as being the room homeowners aren’t ‘hiding’ like they used to, presumably because new home designs call for ‘multi-functional’ rooms that combine laundry with storage, gardening and sports, etc. As that seems to be the case, color then becomes a major driver in the purchase decision. Consumers want appliances around that fit into their existing color schemes. Laundry will always be a chore, but that doesn’t mean the appliance colors need to be boring,” ended Delaney.
About The NPD Group, Inc.
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