New behaviours and lifestyles, brought about by the lockdowns that stimulated the pleasant rediscovery of cooking, continue to have a positive impact on household goods, as the commercial performance in the traditional channel shows. The Living Observatory of Art, the trade association belonging to Confcommercio that brings together manufacturers, importers, distributors, agents of foreign companies and specialised retailers of items for the table, kitchen, gift and home decoration, also recorded a significant trend in the second quarter of the year (data were collected in October and showed that 44% of companies will close 2022 in the black), on the wave of a 2021 that is certainly positive, but with some unknowns for 2023.

The world of points collections - especially that of the large-scale retail trade, which moves the largest volumes in promotions - sees household goods as the most coveted prizes among consumers and this remained stable.

“Household goods,” says Matteo Ciccarelli, general manager of Bergner Italy and board member Bergner Europe, “meet the needs and tastes of most consumers, thanks to their intrinsic practicality and frequency of daily use. The variety of products in this category allows promoters to fill their points catalogues with a wide selection of prizes, as well as to easily alternate between different types of merchandise in short-term operations, such as the so-called sticker collections, which are known to have an average cycle of four to six years, before they return to offer the same type of prizes. In that period, the desire, as well as the need, is spontaneously renewed in consumers to be rewarded again with products in the same category, perhaps more technically advanced and in line with new trends. Households also allow for the creation of the operations with articulated, coherent and combinable product lines, thus amplifying the possibility of building mechanisms that are truly rewarding for consumers and high-performance for promoters”.

This is confirmed by the brand campaigns: one only has to leaf through the many point catalogues available at supermarkets to see plates, glasses, cutlery, pots and pans, cooking accessories (including small electrical appliances) and household items used as an incentive to retain customers and attract new ones.

"In general, household goods are a very popular commodity among large-scale retail consumers," confirms Flora Leoni, Chief Data Officer, crm and services at Carrefour, "and at least once a year we dedicate a short collection to this commodity. This year, for example, we have offered a short collection on the Express channel with Moneta with prizes related to baking and pots and pans, and in 2021 one with Giannini for breakfast items.”

Conad is also looking at houseware, especially for short-term collections.

"If we consider houseware as encompassing the entire home sector, be it textiles (bathroom/bed) or furniture, kitchen and giftware," says Luca Dalmonte, collection manager at Conad, "then it has the major share of the short collection and ranges between 80% and 85%.  New award categories are gaining ground, however, and include products related to fitness, outdoors, travel, hobbies and gardening, as well as jewellery.”

"If we look at the last 10 campaigns we launched," explains Corrado Marchetti, owner of Coro Marketing , "as many as six are related to household goods. Therefore, household items are the most in demand and we select them both for our catalogues and short collections: just think how many needs we can cover with an elegant table setting, a practical and functional assortment of all kitchen, cooking and storage accessories. Not forgetting all items for the bedroom (bed linen, pillows, designer lamps, etc.) and those for the bathroom (sponges, bathrobes, and personal care). Small appliances are also added for each area so that a greater perception of quality and functionality of the catalogue or short collection can be created.

"The demand for household goods remains strong,” says Diego Toscani, CEO of Promotica, "and continues to be a guarantee of good results. Half of the operations initiated by the large-scale retail trade continue to have a household item as the product driver, and of these about 40% by value are related to the household. Only in the last year have we seen widespread use of awards in different categories (such as outdoor sector) as a reaction to the long months of lockdown and travel restrictions. We believe that next year the figures will rebalance".

"The share is stable," Marchetti confirms, "but with a careful selection of colours and style, combined with a recognised brand, it can grow. Although we have noticed an ever decreasing investment by retailers across all product sectors.”

Sustainable items are the most coveted prizes

The issue of promoters' budgets affects product selection: 'In our recent research,” Toscani explains, “we found out that, in addition to the growing awareness of the usefulness of the prizes on offer, sustainability and accessibility of the campaign, Made in Italy is a nice to have for consumers, but often clashes with the available budget, as it costs on average more than the imported product. And where it is used, it must be supported by a communication campaign that adequately enhances it."

"For all categories," says Marchetti, "there is an increasing need for items made from natural, recycled or biodegradable materials. As we are an Italian company, we favour made in Italy and design. The brand is still very important, but much less important than in the past.” 

Sustainability and Made in Italy are often linked to initiatives that favour the local area, communities and the environment. “Our main driver,” says Luca Dalmonte, “is sustainability in the environmental, social and economic sense. So made in Italy is certainly important (since it supports the local economy, manufacturing districts and the Italian economy in general), but no less important is the attention to the environment both in the prize and on the project. Many times, in fact, we also support a charity in the area of corporate social responsibility.”

“The houseware products that are increasingly on demand on the market," says Matteo Ciccarelli "will be those that give new life to raw and secondary materials, those with a higher destination value (upcycling), that are environmentally sustainable and with excellent functional performance. Demand will grow for these products since they limit all types of waste: energy, space, time, and materials. A special place in the evolution and demand for products, given the proximity of the category to food, will certainly be given to the topic of food waste.”