Table of Contents
- Overall Market Picture
- What Grew: Cookware, Bakeware, and Kitchen Electrics
- The Home Baking Shift
- Online Retail Now Dominates Kitchen Purchases
- Why This Matters
- Conclusion
Overall Market Picture
Total U.S. home and housewares sales reached $77.12 billion in 2025, a 0.5% decline from 2024, according to the IHA's 2026 State of the Industry Report.
The drop was concentrated in non-electric housewares, which fell 2.5% to $32.18 billion. Small appliances fared better, growing 1% to $44.94 billion.
IHA president and CEO Derek Miller acknowledged the headwinds. "There's no doubt that economic uncertainty made for a challenging year," he said, while noting that opportunities remain for brands and retailers in high-demand categories.
What Grew: Cookware, Bakeware, and Kitchen Electrics
Within the broader decline, several kitchen-specific categories posted gains:
- Cookware/bakeware: up 4%
- Kitchen electrics (air fryers, stand mixers, espresso makers): up 4%
- Home comfort and water filtration: up 2% each
- Gadgets and cutlery: up 2% each
Joe Derochowski, Circana's vice president and senior home analyst, attributed the growth to five factors: increased home dining and entertaining, high-frequency product replacements, weather pattern changes, and new product innovation.
The Home Baking Shift
One of the more striking data points in the report comes from Circana consumer tracking. For the first time since 1980, sales of ready-to-eat baked goods declined while sales of baking ingredients increased.
That shift has a direct downstream effect on bakeware demand. When more people bake from scratch at home, they need the equipment — sheet pans, loaf pans, mixing bowls, and stand mixers — to do it. The bakeware category's 4% growth appears to reflect exactly that behavioral change.
Online Retail Now Dominates Kitchen Purchases
The IHA report also confirmed a continued shift away from in-store shopping. In 2025, 60% of home and housewares purchases were made online, compared to 58% in 2024. Only 40% of purchases happened in physical stores.
The trend has been building for years, but the 2% year-over-year shift is meaningful for retailers and brands. Discovery and product research still often happens in stores or through editorial coverage, but the transaction increasingly closes online.
Why This Matters
For home cooks, the data reflects real market dynamics that affect what's available and at what price. When cookware and bakeware are among the few growing categories in a $77 billion market, manufacturers respond: new products come to market, existing lines get updates, and competition keeps prices from rising unchecked.
The home baking signal is particularly relevant. If scratch baking is genuinely increasing for the first time in 45 years, demand for quality bakeware — loaf pans, Dutch ovens, proofing baskets, bench scrapers — will sustain. Home cooks shopping for these items are entering a category where investment is currently high and options are expanding.
The continued shift to online purchasing also matters practically: it means kitchen products are easier to comparison-shop and research before buying, and that lesser-known brands with strong online presences can compete directly with legacy names.
Conclusion
The IHA's 2026 State of the Industry Report confirms that home cooking remains a durable consumer priority. Cookware, bakeware, and kitchen electrics each grew 4% in 2025 — outperforming the broader housewares market — driven by sustained home dining habits, a resurgent home baking trend, and consistent product replacement cycles. For US home cooks, it signals a healthy, competitive market for kitchen equipment in the year ahead.
Sources
- Home Accents Today — "Cookware, bakeware see rise in sales despite overall housewares decline, IHA report says"
- Housewares Live — "IHA launches second annual 'State of the Industry Report'"
- Gifts & Decorative Accessories — "Cookware, bakeware see rise in sales despite overall housewares decline, IHA report says"