Outdoor dining sets

-- Casual Living, 11/1/2007 12:00:00 AM

Outdoor dining sets continue to be the mainstay within outdoor furniture. Accounting for more than two-thirds of the outdoor furniture market, dining sets are projected to grow 3% between 2006 and 2007, generating $1.7 billion in retail sales.

Home improvement centers and discount department stores together own nearly two-thirds of the dining set market and both channels are projected to grow sales faster than any other channel. Home improvement centers, with estimated 2006 sales of $426 million, are expected to record the fastest growth at 6.2%. And, discount department stores, with estimated 2006 sales of $668 million, are projected to increase sales by 3.7%.

With a 23% market share, specialty stores sold $389 million in dining sets in 2006. Specialists are projected to lose one percentage point of market share this year, growing retail sales by only 0.7%.

Overall, dining sets accounted for more than half of the total outdoor sales at specialty stores in 2006. They comprised 37% of discounter's outdoor sales and 21% of the outdoor sales at home improvement centers.

Research from Casual Living's 2007 Consumer Buying Trends Survey, conducted among households with incomes of $75,000 or more and published in June 2007, revealed that more than half of buyers purchased a five-piece set, while one-third purchased a seven-piece set. Overall, households spent a median of $450 on their dining set, with 21% spending $1,000 or more. Nearly two-fifths of the dining sets purchased at $1,000 or more were purchased at specialty stores