2023 brought a lot of changes to the Major Appliance market. To highlight some of the shifts we saw in market trends, brand and retailer share, consumer preferences, and more, TraQline completed a brief review of key market highlights for 2023.   

Read on to find out what major appliance brands consumers are buying most, where they are buying them, and what drives their purchase decisions. Download our free Major Appliances market rankings infographic for even more key insights. 

SOURCE: All data insights in this article cover the rolling four quarter period ending December 2023 within the TraQline Durable IQ^TM Total US Major Core Appliances product category. This category is an aggregate of several products including Refrigerator (24%), Clothes Washer (24%), Clothes Dryer (20%), Dishwasher (13%), Freezer (7%), Free-Standing Range (6%), Cooktop (2%), Wall Oven (2%), Compact Refrigerator (1%), and Built-In Range (1%). 

Who are the top Major Appliances retailers by market share?

As of December 2023, the leading retailers in the Major Appliance market were Lowe’s and Home Depot. These retailers led in both unit and dollar share.  

Let’s dive into the nuances of unit versus dollar share winners.

Major Appliances Retailer Unit Share Winners 

In unit share, Lowe’s won the most market share in 2023, leading all other outlets at 29%. Compared to 2022, Lowe’s saw a 1 percentage point growth — continuing a three-year upward trend.  

Home Depot is the next largest retailer with 23%-unit share. Home Depot is also seeing growth, though less significant, up 0.4 points from last year.  

Coming in as 2023’s third largest Major Appliance retailer, Best Buy earned 12%-unit share — down 1 point year-over-year (YOY).  

Major Appliances Retailer Dollar Share Winners 

In retailer dollar share, Lowe’s (29%) and Home Depot (24%) continue to hold first and second places. As seen with unit share, both retailers enjoyed an increase YOY, with Lowe’s gaining 0.6 points and Home Depot gaining 0.3.  

Best Buy remains in third place, with 14%-dollar share — again dropping YOY with a decrease of 0.7 points. 

Outlet Draw Rates   

Our top two market leaders also continue to lead in outlet draw rate, with Lowe’s drawing in 46% of all consumers who bought Major Appliances in 2023 and Home Depot drawing in 42%. 

For more insights on draw rates — and to see how these retailers compare in closing the consumers they brought in, download the 2023 market report.  

Who leads the Major Home Appliances market share by brand? 

The top Major Appliance brands in 2023 were Samsung, General Electric, LG, and Whirlpool — leading the market in both unit and dollar share. 

Let’s look deeper into our brand share split insights. 

Major Household Appliances Brand Unit Share Winners 

The most popular Major Appliance brands by unit share split in 2023 were: 

1. Samsung (19%) 
2. General Electric (17%) 
3. LG (16%) 
4. Whirlpool (16%) 

Notably, each of these top brands enjoy unit share that is significantly higher than all other brands.  

Additionally, while all these top brands increased YOY, LG saw the largest growth at an increase of 0.9 points. 

Major Household Appliances Brand Dollar Share Winner 

In brand dollar share split, the top Major Appliance brands were:  

1. Samsung — 21% 
2. LG — 19% 
3. General Electric — 18% 
4. Whirlpool — 15% 

While LG and Samsung saw modest decreases in dollar share from this time last year, GE and Whirlpool enjoyed YOY increases of 0.9 and 0.3 points respectively.  

Brand Consideration Rates  

When purchasing Major Appliances, almost a third of all consumers consider these top four brands in their purchase.  

Major Appliance Brand Consideration Rates  

• Samsung — 32%  
• LG — 29% 
• GE — 28% 
• Whirlpool — 28%  

Interestingly, while Whirlpool only wins 15-16% of the market, they have a consideration rate that competes with that of LG and GE. The percentage of consumers that brands win after consideration is known as the close rate. For 2023 brand close rate data, download our infographic.  

How much do consumers spend on Major Appliances? 

In 2023, the total industry average price paid for Major Appliance products was $922 — a slight decrease from the $946 average price in 2022.  

Average price paid does vary by retailer. Looking at the top three retailers for Major Appliances, the average price paid breaks down as:  

• Lowe’s — $896 
• Home Depot — $931 
• Best Buy — $997 

Notably, Best Buy has the smallest market share in both dollars and units, however the highest average price paid, which is more than $70 higher than the industry average.

How are online and in-store sales trending for the Major Appliance market? 

In 2023, brick and mortar stores remained the most common sales channel for Major Appliances, with 72% of purchases made in-store. Correspondingly, 25% of all Major Appliance purchases were made online.  

Here are a few other online sales trends TraQline uncovered within the Major Appliance industry: 

• When purchasing online, 11% have the appliance shipped to the store for pick up. 
• Regardless of purchase channel, 61% of all Major Appliance buyers shopped online.  
• Of the 72% of consumers who bought in-store, 48% shopped online before purchase. 

Average Price Paid Online vs. In-Store 

Consumers historically pay a lower average price when buying online, this trend continued in 2023 with an average price paid of $890 for Major Appliances purchased online and $940 for those purchased in-store. 

More Than Market Share:
Other Notable Retailer & Brand Insights 

Major Appliance Consumer Demographics 

TraQline delivers census-balanced market insights that highlight the typical Major Appliance customer. 

As of December 2023, Major Appliance consumers showed the following traits: 

• 77% of Major Appliance purchasers are homeowners, 21% of purchasers are renters 
• 59% of Major Appliance purchasers are married 
• 35% of Major Appliance purchases were made with male only involved in the buying process; 29% of purchases were made with female only  
• 59% of Major Appliance purchases were made by Millennials or Gen Xers  
• 30% were Millennials, increasing 1.7 points YOY 
• 29% were Gen X, down slightly (-0.2 points) YOY 

Smart Appliances 

While most 2023 Major Appliance purchases were not considered “smart” appliances, there has been a decrease over the last 5 years as more people gravitate toward smart appliances — dropping nearly 9 percentage point increase since 2019. 

Purchase Drivers 

What drives consumers to purchase Major Appliances?  

As seen in previous years, the most mentioned reason for purchasing a new Major Appliance was “old one was broken/required service.” The top three reasons for purchase were:  

1. “Old one was broken/required service” (61%) 
2. “Moved to a new home” (12%) 
3. “Old one will break soon” (8%) 

Why do consumers select a specific retailer for purchase? The most mentioned reasons for purchasing Major Appliance at a specific retailer were:  

1. “Competitive price” (59%) 
2. “Good selection of products” (41%)  
3. “Convenient location” (28%) 
4. “Previous experience with store” (27%) 

What drives brand selection when purchasing Major Appliances? The most mentioned reasons for purchasing a specific Major Appliance brand were:  

1. “Competitive price” (43%) 
2. “Quality product” (30%) 
3. “Features desired” (29%) 
4. “Good brand name” (28%) 

Outlets & Brands Shopped    

When shopping for Major Appliances, most shoppers look at only one store and/or brand before buying.  

• 53% of purchasers shopped at only one store before making a purchase 
• 52% shopped for only one brand.  

Features 

The most popular Major Appliance colors in 2023 were: White (43%), Stainless (23%), and Black (11%). This trend was also seen in past years.  

However, while White remains the most popular color, it has shown a downward trend over the past several years, declining 1.3 points since 2022.  

Get more insight into Major Appliance market trends

The market insights don’t stop here. For more retail sales data, market share, and insights on the Major Appliance industry, download the Durable IQ-exclusive infographic below. To see insights for other industries or find out how we can help power growth for your business, contact us today.