The recently published Global Homeware 2025 report highlights that homeware shoppers are looking for sustainable options, and retailers are responding.
In theory homeware should be built to last, with furniture designed to be sat at, sat on or slept in, for years after purchase. Unlike fashion, there is no ‘fast furniture’, or is there?
Decor trends do come and go. And does affordable furniture mean lower quality and lower lifetime value? As with the retail industry as a whole, the homeware market has had to clean up its act in recent years, with consumers and regulators calling for sustainable products and operations.
According to a survey by PwC, 58% of online consumers consider sustainability when purchasing homeware products. Furthermore, 68% are willing to pay more for sustainable homeware products. The study estimated that consumers would pay nearly 10% (9.7%) more for sustainable products.
Furthermore, recent ConsumerX research found that nearly 20% of shoppers have purchased second-hand or refurbished homeware products in the past 12-months.
Shoppers looking for second-hand furniture have a range of different retail routes to go down. It is no longer simply dedicated furniture charity stores on the high street. There are a host of online marketplaces catering for pre-loved furniture buyers. Vinterior is one example, and it believes it is truly circular – as its community has saved over 1,000,000 pieces of furniture from landfill.
Businesses across the homeware sector are responding to the green habits of consumers, some in interesting ways. An Ikea profile highlights what a leading retailer in the sector is doing, but some enterprises are getting creative.
ChopValue UK, for instance, has collected five million chopsticks in 12 months, upcycling the used materials into a range of products including desks. While in South Africa, Heineken has created a homeware collection made entirely from recycled bottles as part of its Fields Green with Grass, Not Glass initiative.
This feature appears in the Global Homeware 2025 report, which predicts the sector will reach $145bn this year, as consumers make the most of their living spaces. Improving economic conditions and smart home technologies also provide a boost to this market.
The report features The Top50 List; ConsumerX research; Virtual reality feature and six company profiles. There is also an exclusive interview with SharkNinja.
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