What the Kitchen Market Needs to Know About Appliance Tariffs, Pricing & More

Updated August 2025

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Throughout the first half of 2025, the kitchen appliance industry is facing a period of noteworthy disruption, driven by influences such as the housing market, new and upcoming tariffs, and evolving consumer demand and preferences. 

During our recent webinar, “Cooking Up Insights in Kitchen: Top Industry Highlights,” my colleague Val Alde-Hayman and I took a look at these areas and more, exploring the top trends shaping both large and small kitchen appliances in 2025.

We uncover how:

• How much appliance prices are increasing with tariffs

• Why the housing market is slowing large appliance sales

• Why premium small appliances might see an increase in sales in late 2025

You can read through some of the key takeaways from the webinar in this article, but make sure to check out the webinar below to hear the full details. 

1. The Housing Market’s Ripple Effect on Large Appliances

One external force significantly impacting large appliance sales is the housing market. Mortgage rates remain high, causing home sales to cool down — and with fewer people buying or moving, large appliance purchases have also slowed. 

Here’s how this breaks down: 

• High mortgage rates are causing a decrease in home purchases
• Fewer home purchases equates to fewer large appliance purchases
• Consumers are buying out of necessity instead, with replacements accounting for over 70% of major appliance purchases

🔍 Our Assessment: With home sales slowing in 2025, most large appliance purchases now come from necessity-driven replacements. For sellers and procurement professionals alike, this shifts the focus from outfitting new homes to meeting urgent, budget-conscious demand.

Success for sellers may hinge on securing dependable, energy-efficient models, negotiating favorable terms, and leveraging promotions or financing to move inventory until housing-driven demand rebounds.

2. Renters & Small Appliance Growth 

As home purchases slow, rental households rise, especially among younger consumers. And with rental households increasing nearly 3x faster than homeowner households in 2024, demand for small, portable kitchen tools is rising. Here’s what we are seeing as a result: 

• Smaller kitchens mean less room to store or display appliances
• This increases the appeal of small appliances, which take up less space 
• However, when small appliances get put away, they’re forgotten and used less
• Brands are responding with space-saving and multifunctional designs

Example: Ninja’s DoubleStack air fryer and Cuisinart’s SpaceSaver oven align with counterspace-conscious shoppers.

 

🔍 Our Assessment: With rental households outpacing homeowner households, small appliances are benefiting from a surge in demand — particularly among younger, space-conscious consumers.

For sellers and procurement professionals, the opportunity lies in curating compact, multifunctional models that justify their footprint on limited countertops. Expect success when highlighting versatility, easy storage, and modern design.

3. Innovation in Features & Format in the Kitchen Market

Brands are responding to space and price sensitivity with innovative designs and multifunctional features. We’re seeing:

• Vertical air fryers like Ninja’s DoubleStack
• Flip-up appliances like Cuisinart’s SpaceSaver air fryer and the Ninja Flip
• Hybrid appliances that combine air fry, toast, and bake in one unit such as the air fry ovens from Frigidaire and GE which bridge major and small appliance capabilities

Multifunctionality isn’t a new capability but it is growing in popularity, rising as a consumer expectation. Whether it’s a coffee maker that handles both single-serve and multi-cup or an ice cream maker that also whips up frozen drinks, shoppers want more value and less appliances.

🔍 Our Assessment: As consumers grow more space- and price-conscious, multifunctional appliances shift from niche perk to expected standard.

Looking to win on the showroom floor? The winning products are likely those that solve real kitchen constraints, combining multiple functions, fitting smaller spaces, and delivering everyday value.

4. Appliance Pricing & Promotions: What’s Changed Since the Pandemic?

In 2021, high demand and low inventory allowed brands to pull back on discounts. But in 2022 and beyond, promotions ramped up again, especially for large appliances, as price-sensitive shoppers returned.

• Major appliances saw sharp price hikes post-pandemic; now major appliance prices are softening due to promo pressure
• Small appliances stayed more stable but trend downward in average price
• Value-focused sub-brands (e.g. So Yummy by Bella) are gaining traction

🔍 Our Assessment: With large appliance prices easing under promotional pressure and small appliance prices trending down, buyers are once again prioritizing value.

For sellers, the growth of affordable sub-brands signals an opportunity to meet demand without sacrificing margin — especially in high-turn categories like single-serve products. Strategic discounting, bundling, and clear value messaging must be part of your strategy to capture price-sensitive shoppers in 2025.

5. Will Appliances Be Affected by Tariffs in 2025?

While the full picture is still developing, early indicators show that new tariffs will moderately increase appliance costs, especially for major appliances.

• Tariffs are expected to modestly raise prices, especially in large appliances
• Small appliance prices expected to rise gradually, unlike large appliances
• Price increases may be temporary, and consumers are likely to remain price-sensitive

🔍 Our Assessment: With new tariffs set to raise costs in large appliances, pricing strategies need to balance consumers’ heightened price sensitivity. The near-term play will be managing cost pressures while using promotions to protect demand.

Small appliance price hikes are expected to be slower and less pronounced, creating opportunities to shift focus toward these categories if large appliance margins tighten.

Forecast: Expect higher shelf prices but aggressive promos to maintain consumer interest. Small appliances may be an avenue to help fill the gap in revenue.

To see how this plays out for large versus small appliances, check out the full webinar recording! And for more forecast and tariff impact, I highly recommend you check out our new CPI and Market Forecast products launched this year by our Chief Economist, Ralph McLaughlin. 

6. 2025 Outlook: What’s Ahead for the Kitchen Market

Major Appliances Forecast 

1. Large Appliances Impacted Most: Large appliances might see the biggest shift in consumer purchasing as rising everyday costs and potentially tariff-related impacts shrink the market for new purchases
2. Shrinking Demand for Home Purchases: Higher resource costs could push home prices up, reducing new home purchases and demand for large appliances
3. Increased Competition: Tariff effects on low-margin items may intensify competition, driving deeper discounts to capture limited spending
4. Replacement-Purchase Only: Trend of replacement-based purchases expected to continue

Small Appliances Forecast

1. Slight, but Real Impact on Small Appliances: Small appliance prices may rise slightly due to parts and labor sourced from countries impacted by tariffs
2. Demand Remains Stable: Despite price increases, demand may remain stable or improve as consumers are less sensitive to lower-priced appliances
3. Consumers More Willing to Upgrade?: With more time spent at home consumers may upgrade small appliances such as coffee makers to avoid spending money out
4. Larger Brands Less Impacted: Smaller brands may see slight price increases, while leading brands are likely to diversify supply chains to adapt quickly

Watch the Full Webinar for More Kitchen Market Insights

Want a deeper dive into these insights? Get a more in-depth look into these trends and hear the extended Q&A in the webinar recording — including a guest appearance from our Chief Economist, Ralph McLaughlin, who provides more insights into tariff related questions from our live attendees!

Watch now → What’s Cooking in Kitchen Webinar Recording

Thanks for reading, and if you attended the live webinar, thanks for joining us! The team here at OpenBrand, myself included, are here to help you navigate the kitchen market with clarity and confidence. 

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If you have questions, please reach out to me directly using the form below or request a demo to see our appliance data in action.