Home Organization in the U.S.: General Purpose, Closets, Garages, and Storage Sheds, 3rd Edition

Home Organization in the U.S.: General Purpose, Closets, Garages, and Storage Sheds, 3rd Edition

Americans are acquisitive. We like to buy things and put them in our homes – even if the homes aren’t blessed with terrific storage space. Enter the home organization market – products designed to make order out of disorder, in closets, garages, cabinets, storage sheds, etc. Early on this was a thriving market. Then came the recession, and the market for these products stalled.

So what lies in the future for the home storage market?

In Home Organization in the U.S.: General Purpose Storage, Closets, Garages, and Storage Sheds, 3rd Edition, a new report, Packaged Facts finds that sales of home organization products have been recovering from the recession-induced slowdown. While consumers are still shy to pull the trigger on large, discretionary items, our research indicates that the home organization market should continue to recover and perform better than many other household product categories. Consumer demand exists and is growing for the products.

Packaged Facts estimates that overall U.S. manufacturers’ sales of home organization products reached $8.5 billion in 2014. The market grew at an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5% between 2010 and 2014. Sales recovered during the period after growing at less than a 1% CAGR between 2006 and 2010. During that period the market declined in 2008 and 2009 due to the recession and housing crash. Sales reversed the downward trend in 2010 and have continued to increase slowly through 2014. The economic recovery, while slow and uneven, has propelled sales growth, which had been increasing at a rapid pace prior to the recession. Pent up demand for garage and closet organization products as well as sheds and general storage products has further helped drive sales increases over the last several years.

Packaged Facts estimates that the home organization products market will continue to grow and at a CAGR of nearly 4% to reach $10.3 billion in 2019. The pace of future growth should be at a slightly accelerated rate compared to the last several years due to expected growth of employment and housing.

Closet and garage organization products have been the main drivers of growth for the market before and after the recession. While the financial and housing collapse hurt these highly discretionary items, particularly higher-priced installed systems, consumers have shifted to buying less expensive DIY systems or components to help propel the categories back to growth. Specific products that have done well tap into trends that are still relevant and growing in importance. They include convenience, ease and simplicity of use and assembly, versatility and customization, utilization of wasted space for storage, and more stylish products tied into home decor.

Scope of Report

This report focuses on home organization products sold to consumers in the United States. Products covered include items used by consumers to store and organize things within and outside their homes. The report broadly categorizes products for general purpose storage, closets, garages, and outdoor storage sheds. Products are purchased by consumers as DIY or installed items that are assembled by others. Not included are food storage products and furniture such as conventional cabinets. For the purpose of this report, sales are estimated at the manufacturer’s level and include products sold to consumers but not services rendered such as consultation and installation.

The report covers all retail channels of distribution that carry DIY home organization products such as mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, home improvement centers, hardware stores, specialty stores, department stores, dollar stores, food and drug stores, catalogues, home shopping channels, Internet retailers, and manufacturers own websites. Also included are dealers, franchisees and agents who sell installed products. Market size data are provided at the manufacturer’s sales level for 2010-2014 and projections for 2014-2019. In addition to presenting industry statistics, this report identifies key trends affecting the marketplace and profiles key and interesting manufacturers and retailers.

Methodology

The information in this report was obtained from both primary and secondary research. Primary research included consultation with industry sources and on-site examination of retail stores. Secondary research entailed gathering data from relevant trade, business and government sources, as well as company literature and annual reports. Our estimates of market size and company performance are based on various sources including reported revenues of product manufacturers and retailers, publications and other market research sources. Total sales of home organization products, as well as breakouts by manufacturer, product form and retail channel, are difficult to quantify since most sales are unaudited. Additionally, the vast majority of market players are private firms. Particularly challenging is the fact that many products such as totes and bins can be used across various rooms of the home. We used our research and analysis to develop market sales and share data estimates. Our analysis of consumer trends relies on data from various sources including a national online consumer usage survey conducted in January/February 2014 by Packaged Facts, and Simmons National Consumer Surveys for Winter 2008 through Winter 2014, from Experian Marketing Services.

Market Definition

Home organization products consist of a range of items consumers use to store and organize possessions inside and outside of the home. We’ve defined four broad categories: general purpose storage, closets, garages, and outdoor storage sheds. General purpose storage includes containers, shelving, cabinets, drawers, modular units, hanging storage, accessories, and other products used throughout the home and not specified for use in closets or garages. Closet storage consists of a wide range of products such as rails, tracks, rods, shelves, hanging organizers, drawers, and doors. Garage storage includes wall systems, cabinets, and overhead storage products. Outdoor sheds are storage units placed outside the home and typically used to store gardening and other outdoor equipment and supplies. Products, typically made from resin/plastic, vinyl, metal, or wood, range from small preassembled units to larger, site-built sheds.