US Pandemic-Driven Demand for Appliances Is Declining, Whirlpool Says

Whirlpool said U.S. consumers might be losing interest in appliances after two years of the pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday (April 25).

The dishwasher and refrigerator maker has cut its sales forecast and is reportedly looking into a review of an international division. Sales for the company fell 8.2% in the first quarter, compared to the same time a year prior.

According to Whirlpool, the revenue over the three months ending March 31 were 14% higher than in the first quarter of 2020 — which shows that consumers are spending more on appliances than they did prior to the pandemic.

Whirlpool said demand might be leveling off or declining now, with inflation also driving up the costs. The company also said the appliance industry might not grow this year, although Whirlpool had been expecting as much as 3% growth.

The beginning of the pandemic in 2020 came with a spate of purchases of long-lasting products such as chairs for home offices, boats and various kinds of appliances. These purchases have bode well for companies like Whirlpool, though there were difficulties in how the factories couldn’t keep up with the order volumes.

The WSJ noted that Whirlpool said it would be doing a “strategic review” of operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with the sales from that region making up 23% of the company’s total revenue.

According to Whirlpool, being a big player in a specific region instead of worldwide has become important because of the geopolitical tensions, rising freight costs and the amount of tariffs. It added that the Russia-Ukraine war had also hurt European demand, making business costlier in that region.

PYMNTS wrote in 2020 that Whirlpool was debuting Swash liquid laundry detergent through Amazon, which was the company’s entry into the liquid laundry detergent space.

See also: Whirlpool Corporation Rolls Out Swash Laundry Detergent On Amazon

Swash reportedly dispenses the detergent for customers with a “precision pour cap” so consumers only pour the amount of product they need.