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How many portable washing machines are sold in the US in 1 year?
Hi, thanks for asking about the annual sales of portable washing machines in the US. After a ton of digging, I found that that there are approximately 7,191 units of portable washing machines sold in the US last year. The leading brands within this market are Haier, Midea, Magic Chef, and General Electric. The most useful sources I found to answer your question are American Housing Survey, Statista, and Yahoo News. Below, you will find a more extensive account of my findings as well as an in-depth explanation of how I came to these conclusions.
METHODOLOGY
In order to determine the market size of portable washing machines in the US in terms of unit shipments, I began my research by reviewing relevant reports, articles, and databases. During this phase, I found that the small group of studies that focus on this topic are behind paywalls. As such, I’ve decided to expand my research by also focusing on market reports pertaining to the washing machine, home laundry appliances, and compact appliances market. While my research has been successful in locating numbers for these larger industries, it appears that data regarding the portion of these sectors that are covered by portable washing machines is not publicly available.
In an attempt to provide an estimate, I also assessed features that are unique to portable washers. One of the first few that I’ve pursued is the average monthly electric consumption. After further research, however, I found that the average electric usage of portable washers is not far from the average for Energy Star normal capacity washers. After reviewing numerous sources, I found that the most feasible route to triangulate this is by piecing together statistics involving compact appliance usage, washing machine unit shipments, and typical washing machine capacity.
ANNUAL SALES OF PORTABLE WASHING MACHINES
According to Grand View Research, the global washing machine market is projected to reach $42.16 billion in revenues by the year 2025. The US market alone is expected to grow by 4.84% between 2016 and 2020. Through my research, I was able to locate studies from QY Research Reports and Report Buyer that are specific to the US portable washing machine industry. These reports, however, are behind paywalls and their preview versions do not offer any data that would help us estimate the market revenue.
One of the primary motivations by consumers for purchasing portable washers is its energy efficiency. Based on a list of the leading portable washers provided by TopTenReviews, we’ll notice that the average monthly electric consumption of compact washing machines is 21.6 kWh. However, it appears that this number is not far from the 23.3 kWh monthly electricity usage of normal capacity Energy Star washers.
Another observation that we can obtain from the list of leading portable washers is the average capacity that is equivalent to 1.76 cubic feet. According to the US Geological Survey, Americans consume an average of 25 gallons (or 3.34 cubic feet) of water per load. With an average household size of 2.54, we can determine that each person in the US consumes 1.48 cubic feet of water per load. Applying this to the typical capacity of portable washers would lead us to the conclusion that single person households are the most likely category to use this type of appliance.
According to Statista, there are 16.41 million units of home laundry appliances sold in the US for the year 2016. Since washers account to 50.5% of the home laundry appliances segment, we can surmise that there were 8.29 million washing machines sold in the country last year. In 2015, approximately 27.98% of households in the US are composed of only one member. In addition to this, a Yahoo News article has suggested that compact appliances appeal most to the top-income renters in the US, a group that covers 0.31% of the population. Using the figures that we have gathered so far, we can calculate an estimated annual unit sales:
Annual unit sales of portable washing machines in the US:
= [total number of washers sold in the US] x [percent of single person households] x [portion of top income renters]
= 7,191 portable washing machines sold
In the preview version of QY Research Reports’ study on portable washing machines, they’ve listed the leading global manufacturers which includes Sanyo, Siemens, Panasonic, LG, Whirlpool, Bosch, and more. Regrettably, this preview doesn’t provide data regarding each player’s share in the US market. According to an article published by TopTenReviews, the following models are among the highest rated portable washers today:
In summary, my research has found that all reports that contain the exact amount of portable washing machines sold each year are behind paywalls. Using the most relevant statistics available, I was able to reach an estimate of 7,191 units of portable washing machines sold in the US last year. The leading brands within this market are Haier, Midea, Magic Chef, and General Electric.
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