Abstract
The office supply market is fragmented, with large chains, discount clubs, independent stores, supermarkets, drug stores, and other outlets fighting for market share. Staples, Office Depot, and OfficeMax, the three largest office supply chains, compete against discount clubs (such as Sams Club) for the budgets of both consumers and small businesses.
Consolidation of smaller players, along with an increasingly commoditized market, are likely trends in the next few years. Mintel believes national office supply chains and discount clubs will offer increasingly similar product lines at discounted price points, gobbling up sales from independent suppliers.
The report examines the following aspects of office supplies:
- primary market factors that have driven and will continue to drive sales growth in the category
- demographics of office supply shoppers, including the influences of gender, age, marital and family status, number of people in the household, income, and race/ethnicity
- shopping patterns of office supply shoppers
- financial history and future business plans of office supply stores
- overview of new product rollouts at office supply stores throughout 2005
Mintel clearly identifies the principal external factors driving or curtailing sales growth in office supplies. Exclusive consumer research reveals the attitudes, needs and behavior of consumers, with analysis broken down both by demographic characteristics, and by product type. Six years of specific sales data provide a factual and impartial presentation of the market as a whole. Using the SPSS forecasting package, Mintel creates a five-year forecast of U.S. retail sales in the office supplies market, revealing potential opportunities for growth and product development.
Table of Contents
- Introduction and Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Other relevant reports
- Definition
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
- Executive Summary
- A strong, steady market aided by social and economic trends
- Sales growth coming from all three segments
- A very fragmented market underscores opportunity and risk for all
- Staples and Office Depot build brand awareness and customer loyalty
- Consumers show little preference when selecting an office retailer
- Commoditization and competition will force big-box retailers to attempt to identify new avenues of revenue and differentiation
- Steady real growth expected
- Market Drivers
- Sales primarily track real GDP growth
- Figure 1: Key economic indicators (gross domestic product, disposable personal income, savings, unemployment), 1999-2005
- Moores Law and the technological treadmill
- Figure 2: Transistors contained on computer processors, by year launched, 1971-2003
- Increased market penetration of the personal computer drives sales
- Figure 3: Household ownership of personal computers, digital still cameras and ink jet printers, 2001-05
- Small businesses are a steady growth market
- Ethnicity and immigration play a role in the number of small businesses
- Figure 4: U.S. population, by age and race/ethnic origin, 2005
- Home-based offices
- Telecommuting trends
- Paper consumption and related consumables
- Market Size and Trends
- Market size
- Figure 5: Total U.S. retail sales of office supplies, at current and constant prices, 1999-2005
- Figure 6: Graph: Total U.S. retail sales of office supplies, at current and constant prices, 1999-2005
- Market trends
- Figure 7: Alternate view of total U.S. sales of office supplies, at current and constant prices, 1999-2004
- Market Segmentation
- Overall
- Figure 8: Sales of total office supplies, segmented by accessories, technology and furniture, 2003 and 2005
- Office accessories
- Figure 9: Sales of office accessories, at current and constant prices, 1999-2005
- Office technology
- Figure 10: Total sales of office technology, at current and constant prices, 1999-2005
- Office furniture
- Figure 11: Sales of office furniture, at current and constant prices, 1999-2005
- Supply Structure/Retail Distribution
- Overview of companies and brands
- Figure 12: U.S. sales of office supplies, by suppliers and retail channels, 2002 and 2004
- Figure 13: Graph: U.S. sales of office supplies, by suppliers and retail channels, 2004
- Figure 14: Number of outlets by type of office supply store, 2004
- Alternate view of the distribution channel
- Figure 15: Alternate view of total U.S. sales of office supplies, by distribution channel, 2004
- Office supply stores
- Staples
- Office Depot
- OfficeMax
- Warehouse Clubs
- Figure 17: Top warehouse clubs, by sales, 2002 and 2004
- BJs Wholesale
- Costco
- SAMS CLUB
- Mass merchandisers
- Wal-Mart
- Target
- Supermarkets
- Figure 16: Sales of the leading supermarket chains in the U.S., 2004
- Drug stores
- Figure 17: Sales of the leading drug store chains in the U.S., 2004.
- Internet-based office merchandise retailers
- BuyOnlineNow.com
- DiscountOfficeSupplies.com
- eOfficeDirect.com
- Contract specialists
- Specialty retailers
- Advertising and Promotion
- Staples embraces a broad strategy
- Office Depot launches major initiatives
- OfficeMax goes local
- The Consumer
- Introduction
- Description of section
- Figure 18: Purchase of office supplies, by usage, December 2005
- Figure 19: Graph: Purchase of office supplies, by usage, December 2005
- Figure 20: Purchase of office supplies, by age, December 2005
- Figure 21: Purchase of office supplies, by income, December 2005
- Figure 22: Purchase of office supplies, by race/ethnicity, December 2005
- Figure 23: Purchase of office supplies, by employment status, December 2005
- Types of product purchases
- Figure 24: Purchase of office accessories, furniture, technology and services, December 2005
- Figure 25: Purchase of office accessories, furniture, technology and servics, by age, December 2005
- Figure 26: Purchase of office accessories, furniture, technology and services, by income, December 2005
- Figure 27: Purchase of office accessories, furniture, technology and services, by employment status, December 2005
- Where respondents bought their product
- Figure 28: Types of stores where respondents purchase office supplies, December 2005
- Figure 29: Types of stores where respondents purchase office supplies, by gender, December 2005
- Figure 30: Types of stores where respondents purchase office supplies, by income, December 2005
- Figure 31: Types of stores where respondents purchased office supplies, by race/ethnicity, December 2005
- Figure 32: Types of stores where respondents purchased office supplies, by employment status, December 2005
- Figure 33: Types of stores where respondents purchased office supplies, by region, December 2005
- Reasons for office supply purchases
- Figure 34: Reasons for office supply purchases, December 2005
- Figure 35: Reasons for office supply purchases, by gender, December 2005
- Figure 36: Reasons for office supply purchases, by age, December 2005
- Figure 37: Reasons for office supply purchases, by employment status, December 2005
- Summary
- Future and Forecast
- Future trends
- Fighting commoditization
- More about channel competition
- Single sourcing might help big-box office suppliers
- Independents strike back
- Broadening service lines to increase revenue and differentiation
- Appealing to minorities and women
- More private label goods
- Market forecast
- Office supplies
- Figure 38: Forecast of total U.S. sales of office supplies, at current and constant prices, 2005-10
- Figure 39: Graph: Total U.S. sales of office supplies, 1999-2005, and forecast, 2005-10
- Office accessories
- Figure 40: Forecast of U.S. sales of office accessories, at current and constant prices, 2005-10
- Office technology
- Figure 41: Forecast of U.S. sales of office technology, at current and constant prices, 2005-10
- Office furniture
- Figure 42: Forecast of U.S. sales of office furniture, at current and constant prices, 2005-10
- Forecast Factors
- Appendix: Trade Associations
