YoY change in major household appliances shipments in the U.S. and Europe 2018-2023

Despite a steady growth rate of core household appliances shipments in 2020 and 2021, the rate of shipments since 2022 has declined dramatically, stretching into 2023. This applies to all major household appliance markets, whether in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, or the United States. The largest growth was the jump in microwave ovens and home-comfort products in the U.S. between 2020 and 2021, with a 15 percent increase in shipments.

Household appliances industry recovering from the coronavirus (COVID-19) impact

While COVID-19 had a substantial impact on most industries, in the case of household appliances it corrected a rather steep decline in shipment numbers that began in 2018. As a result, 2020 shipments rose steadily and in 2021 exceeded their pre-2018 numbers by a substantial amount. Nonetheless, a dramatic increase in shipments was followed by a steep decline in 2022 and 2023, with shipments in the U.S. faring slightly better than in Europe.

2021 - an excellent year for household appliances

2021 saw a significant increase in household appliances sales in the United States and Europe. For these double-digit increases, it has to be considered that shipments in 2020 were lower than in past years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In general, the household appliances industry seemed to be on track to recover from the pandemic, which led to increased revenues for major home appliances manufacturers such as Whirlpool and Electrolux. All in all, a report published in 2021 revealed that total shipments to both the U.S. and Europe were considerably better than in 2020.