The U.S. office supplies industry has been booming for three consecutive years, but may face challenges in 2022

Data shows that 2021 will continue to be a year of strong growth for the US office supplies industry. NPD predicts that US office industry sales in 2021 will be 8% higher than in 2020 (excluding cleaning and lounge supplies).

But according to the NPD Group, office supplies industry sales will fall back in 2022, down 1%, but will still be higher than pre- pandemic levels in 2019 .

NPD's latest report , "The Future of Office Supplies," predicts that the first half of 2022 will be an extremely challenging period for the office supplies industry , as the Easter holiday shifts from the first quarter (Q1) to the second quarter ( Q2) , and the small back-to-school season that occurred in the first half of 2021 has returned to the traditional time point. It can be concluded that office supplies revenue will fall by 5% in the first quarter of 2022 .

Meanwhile, due to the shift of the 2022 Easter holiday to the second quarter , sales in some creative, gift and handmade categories will also shift to the second quarter, but despite this influx of holiday spending in the second quarter, sales are expected to be flat in the second quarter due to the lack of a small back-to-school shopping season .

Beyond that, industry revenue is expected to see slight growth in the second half of 2022, as the back-to-school season is in the third quarter and the holiday season is in the fourth quarter .

Data shows that in 2021, sales in the third quarter (July 4, 2021 - October 2, 2021) increased by 13% compared to 2020, and sales from the fourth quarter to date increased by 9% (October 3, 2021 - November 20, 2021).

Sales increased due to higher average selling prices resulting from purchases of new products or upgrades to new models amid supply chain challenges , as well as increased consumer spending in higher-priced categories and larger packaging of office supply items .

"We expect sales of products related to work, study and play to continue to set records in 2022 , " said Leen Nsouli, NPD executive director and office supplies industry analyst . "As consumers adapt to a changing normal, the office and school supplies industry needs to not only meet consumers' current needs, but also plan for the next development direction."

USA

Office Supplies

2022