Toronto, ON October 19, 2020 – While the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted a variety of retail verticals in Canada, the small appliance industry has experienced strong growth throughout 2020 reports The NPD Group. The small appliance industry has seen an increase in retail sales of $276 Million, or +24% versus last year. Sales of Kitchen Appliances are driving nearly 60% of the small appliance industry gains year to date. Nearly all types of kitchen appliances have experienced growth this year, with Espresso and Single Serve Coffee makers topping the list of categories contributing to gains. Overall, sales of appliances that produce coffee and espresso beverages for home represent sales of $142M year to date. Sales have grown by $34M, or +32%.
“It’s clear that the industry has benefited from consumers spending more time at home”, says Pam Wood, NPD Home Industry Analyst. “This is especially true when it comes to the kitchen appliance industry, which has been positively impacted by widespread on-premise dinning restrictions in restaurants across Canada.”
On-premise dining at Foodservice has underperformed since March, with traffic down -65% in August compared to year ago. Furthermore, digital ordering from restaurants has also flattened at 12% of total foodservice traffic, similar to July, but 5 points below the height in April. The data suggests that in addition working and schooling at home, consumers are spending more of their time and money eating at home.
Coffee and Espresso Makers aren’t the only kitchen appliances seeing dollar sales increases this year. Home soda machines, blending and processing devices, cookers, and countertop microwave ovens have all seen growth in 2020.
“As the cooler weather approaches and patio season begins to wind down, it’s reasonable to assume that the demand for at home dinning will continue to positively impact the small appliance industry in Canada throughout the fall and winter”, says Wood. “The potential emergence of a second wave in many parts of the country also suggests that the threat of more restrictions and stay at home measures may be looming. While we all hope that this isn’t the case, many consumers will likely embrace at home dinning until the situation begins to stabilize.”