NEW YORK— Last year’s winter season was rough on seasonal appliance manufacturers. Uncharacteristically high temperatures in November and December of last year included record-breaking heat waves in some states and caused a dismal fourth quarter, vendors agreed, with heaters feeling the brunt of the burn.
However, this year is looking up. “The good news is that there will be a winter this year,” Linda Hotz, category director, home comfort, at DeLonghi North America, told HOMEWORLD
BUSINESS®. “Last year was very mild and impacted sell through dramatically in the fourth quarter. This year, the predictions are calling for a later season, as we have already experienced, but the cold weather is now upon us and predicted for normal winter weather from this point forward.”
Hotz noted that this December should see much better sales numbers than the prior year, and overall, sales should be up 10% to 20% over the winter.
While the slow entrance of cold weather this winter season may have delayed heater sales, it may play well for air purifiers and humidifiers as allergy and flu season continues.
“This time of year is particularly relevant for air purification because of cold and flu season, as well as the festive pollutants we inadvertently bring into the home with wood-burning fires, scented candles or home improvement projects,” said Blake Bobosky, evp/sales and marketing for Blueair North America. “The warm fall and lack of a hard frost in many regions will impact what resonates with consumers, to some degree. For Blueair, it may ultimately bring more people into the category as outdoor allergens linger longer.”
When it comes to humidifier sales, Christopher Michaelis, vp/sales and marketing at Essick Air, said he expects November and December will be better than the prior year, while January and February 2017 should match sales from the same months in 2016. “Our customers have increased their SKU count with Aircare products to capitalize on whole home coverage— an important feature if a consumer really wants to debilitate the flu virus in the home,” he noted.
The holiday sales season will also have a major role in 2016 and 2017 seasonal appliance sales for the home comfort category. “Brands know that the holiday season is a key sales period, particularly as consumers are more willing to splurge but still want to provide useful gifts for their loved ones. Home environment appliances tick both of those boxes— they’re a luxurious gift and they keep their families more comfortable and healthy,” said Kevin Shim, director of Coway USA, an air purifier manufacturer.
Some vendors noted that retailers began running seasonal appliance promotions early this year, most likely to drive down inventories left over from last year, but sales growth is expected from further holiday promotions.
“There has been an influx in holiday promotions from last year. Many online stores are even creating specific deal pages for home environment appliances, so we’re expecting these types of devices to be a hotter item than usual this holiday season,” Shim said.
Bobosky noted that many home appliance purchases happen online today, and during the holiday season, whether for gift-gifting or home improvement projects, for Blueair it makes sense to participate in Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers.
“Given our mission, Blueair supports helping more people experience healthier air through several means, including online and brick-and-mortar retailers, holiday sales, retail partnerships, offering refurbished units and even providing product donations to regions in need,” he said.
Shim did note that a likely concern for many vendors in this category during the holiday sales season could be discounted retail prices versus product performance. “Continuous price discounts can lower profits, which leads brands to try to cut corners elsewhere, such as manufacturing costs to make up for decreasing profit. The lower manufacturing cost could potentially mean a decrease in product quality. This is something we work hard to avoid at Coway— offering the best quality products to meet their needs— so we’re very conscious about over discounting,” he said.
To meet the demand for this holiday season, vendors have launched a number of new appliances. Hotz said DeLonghi recently launched a new digital radiator, the Radia S Eco, which the company believes will have a strong season. In addition, she said, “Our new HCX panel heater test launched last year and did very well so we are expanding in 2016.”
Blueair recently launched its updated Classic air cleaner line, focusing on its connected product portfolio as smart home appliances continue to entice consumers.
Coway also looked to upgrade its connected home comfort offering, Airmega, a WiFi-enabled smart air purifier. Shim said, “We’ve recently updated the Airmega mobile app with more robust features, and we’re preparing to integrate with other smart home devices, such as Amazon’s Alexa.”