Riedel Marketing Group

The housewares marketing authority.

Consumers Return to Family Values, Seek Housewares Products for Crafts, Home-based Activities

ROSEMONT, ILL. (Jan. 23, 2004)—American consumers, seeking the safety and comfort of home, are returning to traditional family values and reconnecting with family and friends. Get-togethers such as family reunions, outdoor entertaining and even having dinner together as a family, are on the rise. There’s also an increase in home-based activities such as scrapbooking, gardening, knitting, jewelry-making and other crafts as well as leisure cooking.

These trends bode well for the housewares industry as consumers look for products such as grills, outdoor accessories and entertainment-oriented appliances like popcorn poppers and fondue pots to create fun, family-oriented activities at home. These new products and trends can be seen at the 2004 International Home & Housewares Show, March 20-22 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

“A pendulum swing in family values is just starting to emerge,” says A.J. Riedel, senior partner of Riedel Marketing Group. “People are starting to realize their lives have gotten so busy that the family dinner has been sacrificed. Some are making an intentional effort to bring back the sit-down family dinner.”

“We are seeing a higher regard or priority for family,” says Eleanor Hanson, editor of FoodWatch, a newsletter that tracks consumer food trends. “Consumers are seeking ways to get the family together, such as for family dinners during the week or a Sunday dinner get-together.”

Hanson cites the inauguration of “Family Day: A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children” by The National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse (CASA) as an example of this trend. She noted the group promotes frequent family meals stating they lead to fewer suspensions and incidents of fighting and good academic performance among children.

In 2002, 75 percent of all suppers occurred inside the home, according to Harry Balzer, vice president of The NPD Group’s Food Consulting Services and speaker at the 2004 Show. The NPD Group has been tracking Americans’ eating patterns for more than 25 years.

“Home is still the dominant place where we eat our meals,” Balzer says.

Is this déjà vu? In the 1980s and 1990s, lifestyle guru Faith Popcorn coined the term “cocooning” to describe the consumer’s need to retreat from the stresses of the outside world.

After September 11, many Americans turned inward toward the safety and security of the home. While many have begun venturing outside into the world again, housewares industry veterans report many consumers prefer to remain burrowed inside their safe haven.

“Cocooning is not leaving us and is only growing as we go through these unsettled times of high alert and uncertainty,” says Tom O’Higgins, founder and president of The O’Company, a strategic marketing and design firm focused on the housewares and gourmet industries.

“People will do more in-home entertaining and more in-country travel than even before.”

“The consumer is still fortressing and nesting; the process is still continuing,” agrees Bob Coviello, president of the HTI Buying Group. “The consumer is staying close to home and spending time at home.”

Balzer puts it more simply, comparing the cocooning trend to the first law of inertia. “A body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body at home tends to stay at home,” he says.

Cocooning vs. Connecting: The Truth About the Butterflies and the Bees

While the majority of industry experts cite the cocooning or “nesting” trend as a strong influence on American consumers, some experts report consumers are beginning to venture outside of their home cocoons and into the outside world.

According to Yankelovich, a Chapel Hill, N.C.-based marketing consultancy that tracks consumer attitudes, Americans are connecting with each other through the home by “hiving.” Borrowing from the metaphor of a beehive, abuzz with activity, Yankelovich research defines hiving as “engagement, interaction and connection with the outside environment.”

“A hive is a home designed to open out and facilitate connection,” Yankelovich reports. “Although Americans have indicated increased anxiety and uncertainty about the future, they seek comfort and connection with others. And more so than ever, this is found at home.”

Yankelovich’s consumer trends research through the Yankelovich MONITOR shows a renewed and rising interest in connecting. “Across all generations, family is more important than ever,” the study reports. “People see more value in community. Through hiving, home is the best place to reestablish relationships and connect with others. Home is command central for this new lifestyle.”

Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing, a marketing consulting firm specializing in luxury and discretionary consumer products, agrees. However, rather than describing the phenomenon as hiving, she refers to it as “connecting” citing this as the next dominant cultural trend.

“There is an anti-cocooning trend – a trend toward connecting – that applies across the board,” she says. “There is a shifting focus away from nesting, which is egocentric and self-centered.”

Within the luxury market, Danziger identifies 27 percent of that segment as “butterflies” – those consumers who have emerged from their cocoon and are more outwardly focused and interested in reconnecting with the external world.

“Butterflies” tend to be more affluent, are more likely to be female and part of the baby boomer generation. In addition, they have the highest income and highest household value.

“Butterflies have discovered that things aren’t going to make them happier,” Danziger notes. They are interested in connecting and are placing an emphasis on self-actualization and self-education, such as taking yoga classes, learning a musical instrument or volunteer work. “It’s a shift from being insulated toward becoming more involved in the world,” she adds.

Consumer Demand: Make Meal Preparation Easier

A demographic change on the horizon is the increased number of women in the workforce. According to Balzer, in the 1950s, 30 percent of women worked. By 2002, 60 percent of women aged 16 and older were employed.

“That movement will have a profound impact on how we eat, what we eat and who prepares the food we eat,” he says. “Females are still the primary meal preparer. And the most important thing for the consumer is how to make meal preparation easier and less expensive.

“Food preparation is a job, it’s not something you aspire to do. It’s a task that is done every day, sometimes four to five times a day. And the driving force for all Americans is to alleviate the tasks in our lives.

“Americans want to make meal preparation easier,” he adds. “Americans would love to cook without cookware.”

When women first began entering the workforce, some men volunteered to help out with food preparation, primarily by offering to barbecue. In 1985, 17 percent of households cooked outdoors in an average two-week period. That number increased to 29 percent by 1995 and has remained at that percentage for the past eight to nine years. Balzer speculates, “Dad figured out there’s no joy in cooking. The joy of cooking is a book.”

“Many Americans are so busy that they are spending less time in the kitchen preparing food and are embracing the myriad of new convenience-oriented food products to get food on the table more quickly,” Riedel says.

The New Do-It-Yourself Consumer

Inspired by the success of do-it-yourself television shows such as Trading Spaces and While You Were Out, consumers have rediscovered their love of decorating.

“Years ago, consumer did their own remodeling or redecorating work because they couldn’t afford to hire an outside consultant,” Danziger says. “Today’s DIYers do it because they love it. It’s all about the experience.”

Allen Ferrell, president of The Color Marketing Group, defines this trend with the term “in-place mobility,” which describes how consumers choose to stay in their current home and neighborhood and upgrade. “It’s how they live and where they live,” he adds. “They want a sense of security – to be connected to family and friends.”

According to Riedel, American homeowners are spending more of their discretionary income on home improvement. She cited a 2003 Home Improvement Index survey conducted by American Express showing more respondents, 44 percent, named home improvements as their Number 1 spending priority from discretionary budgets versus vacation travel, 20 percent, or dining and entertainment, 15 percent.

“This interest in decorating is being driven by the TV decorating shows and by retailers such as Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel who merchandise their furniture in room vignettes,” Riedel says. “The TV shows and the retailers are making it really easy for people to get decorating ideas which increases the consumer’s confidence that they are not going to make a decorating mistake and thus, increases their interest in undertaking decorating projects.”

According to research conducted by the Joint Center for Housing Studies, homeowner expenditures rose an estimated 6.6 percent over the past four quarters and spending totaled $125.2 billion. Rising home prices are encouraging homeowners to reinvest in their homes and maintain their homes in top condition, the study says.

“There’s greater interest in home decorating because it’s easier than ever to do it yourself,” notes Sandy Hu, senior vice president and association director, Global Food & Nutrition for Ketchum Public Relations. “Companies like Home Depot provide the tools, the expertise and the support to enable everyday consumers to be successful with do-it-yourself projects. Stores like Ikea and Target offer affordability and style in their housewares mix. Coupled with ‘how-to’ TV shows and shelter books that offer inspiration, consumers feel empowered to create a pleasing personal environment.”

The Appeal Of The Great Outdoors

This focus on renovating and redecorating the home is shifting to include outdoor renovations as well. The Census reported that American spending on “outdoor improvements” reached $670 million in 2000, up from $400 million in 1993, Riedel notes.

Recognizing this trend, the International Home & Housewares Show is adding Patio Park, Outdoor Living. Styled. to the Show in 2004. The expo will feature product demonstrations, displays on cross merchandising indoor and outdoor products and guest speakers on the latest trends in outdoor dining, outdoor decorating and gardening.

“The focus on outdoor living has been gaining steam for a couple of years now,” Riedel says “The backyard is now being treated as another room of the house. The concept is to bring the indoors outside.”

Nowhere is that more evident than in sales of barbecue grills, accessories and other outdoor living amenities. According to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, sales of barbecue grills and accessories and other outdoor living amenities increased in 2002. Overall grill sales increased 7 percent over 2001, with total shipments of 15.2 million units. This nearly matched the record 15.4 million units in 2000.

“Barbecuing is not just a method of eating,” says Donna Myers, spokesperson for the Hearth,

Patio & Barbecue Association. “Research has found the taste of the food is the number one reason for barbecuing but the number two reason is because it’s a fun activity. It becomes part of the day’s entertainment.”

The association cites three out of four, or 76 percent, of U.S. households own a barbecue grill and nearly 60 percent of grills are used year-round.

While the barbecue grill might be the focal point of outdoor entertaining, other outdoor products are quickly being added to the “outdoor” room. “Consumers are adding more things outdoors – refrigerators, islands, wine coolers, televisions, built-in sound systems, fireplaces. They are making it into a room,” Myers says.

Ketchum’s Hu speculates outdoor cooking and dining are popular “because of the informal style, which fits Americans’ ever-more-casual way of life.”

Food and Housewares: A Natural Mix

Also new to the Show this year is the addition of GOHO, Gourmet Home & Food District. This area in the Dine & Design Expo is dedicated to gourmet and specialty food products. In addition, in a cooking theater chefs will demonstrate their favorite recipes, products and tools and the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) is featuring a special tasting section.

“Food and outdoor entertaining are two very logical and topical areas of value and opportunity for retailers considering expanding or venturing into new areas of business,” O’Higgins says.

“Food is a natural, as far as desire and need for the customer. Only a small amount of new area needs to be allocated by a retailer and it brings extra destination ‘pull’ for the consumer to repeat visits to a retailer.”

“The search for novelty drives the gourmet and specialty food market,” Hu says. “With supermarkets continuing to grow their gourmet and specialty food departments, the specialty food stores are increasingly pressured to find the next new thing.”

Specialty food is an integral part of the housewares industry, according to Coviello. “It’s a viable connection and an important department in the store,” he says.

Consumers Return to Family Values/Add Six

Even though consumers are craving convenience-oriented products, there is a renewed interest in cooking and entertaining. “The many cooking shows now on television give people ideas and cooking tips so they have the confidence to try new things,” according to housewares marketer A.J. Riedel.

The small plates concept or “sampling” trend is another trend affecting eating habits.

“Small plates and samplers are sweeping the country and not simply as tapas,” report the FoodWatch newsletter. “The trend makes sense for today’s lifestyles. Diners can eat a little or a lot, can socialize while sharing, can indulge in a bit of low risk adventure and yet not need to over tax the dining budget.”

Is Yellow the New Color for Housewares?

Looking ahead for 2005, the Color Marketing Group’s Ferrell predicts yellow will be the next color for the home. All colors, from oranges, greens and reds, will tend to feature yellow tones. Even neutrals, such as tans, will have a yellow tint rather than pink or brown.

“Yellow tends to be positive, upbeat, friendly, optimistic and happy,” he says. “There is a positive movement in the economy and world conflict appears to be safer and more in control. Consumers have a positive, happier mindset and they get that from the color yellow.

“They are looking for clean, fresh, soft and soothing colors,” Ferrell adds. “People are having an emotional experience with color. It is generally thought of as in the center of the color spectrum – not cool nor warm, not negative nor positive. It is a safe, clean color that mixes well with other colors.”

The Show is open to the trade only. To register for a Show badge and make hotel reservations, visit www.housewares.org or call the Housewares Registration Desk at 800-752-1052.

IHA News Release

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Contact: Deborah A.Teschke

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