The lifestyle news outlets – including this blog – have begun spewing the usual early summer spate of BBQing stories. Many are just annual sharpenings of old saws. But this one stands out: Americans are buying far fewer BBQ grills…
More than 50 percent of the home grills sold in the US and Canada
come from major dealers such as Home Depot and Lowes…
Who’d of thunk it?
The culture that made backyard grilling the legendary pursuit it is today appears to be tapering off on the habit.
The news is inferred from the latest quarterly results from high-end grill maker Traeger. Their sales fell by half, from $156.1 million in Q2 of 2021, to an alarming $76.8 million in the same fiscal period of this year, just completed.
Weber, Traeger’s primary competitor, hasn’t released Q2 numbers. But its stock price has plunged over the first half of this year,
Major outdoor furniture and appliance dealers echo the decline. Home Depot pointed to, “pressure in big-ticket patio and garden equipment, including grills, during its first quarter earnings call in May,” CNN Business reports. “The company reported overall dips in sales and earnings.”
What’s going on?
Industry observers say there are a number of possible reasons for the sudden post-COVID dip in grill sales. Ad they’re hard realities to swallow.
First, we all know that the one-time number-one grilling treat – beef – is now priced out of reach for a significant number of families. Chicken isn’t much cheaper. And folks who used to grill prime cuts or premium protein are not interested in down-grading to hot dogs and hamburgers. It’s quite a mental and emotional adjustment for some to make.
Then, there’s the rising price of grills and associated gear, pushed by inflation. By my own calcula-tions, the price of an ‘average’ 3-burner propane gas grill has risen by at least half the pre-COVID price. That’s got to be a deal killer, especially for folks who were used to guying less-pricey grills and just replacing them every few years.
The people speak
The situation is more complicated than that. The US Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association’s latest survey shows 80 percent of U.S. homeowners owned a grill or smoker in 2023 — up from 64 percent in 2019. And 27 percent of new grill owners said they caught the habit when locked down at home during the COVID crisis.
But it’s been over a year since the World Health Organization officially took down its COVID crisis declaration, on May 23 last year. And this year, it appears that most folks who want a grill, already have an adequately functioning one.
‘Replacement phase’?
The industry says the average useful life of a mid-range grill is about 5 years. For folks who bought during the last boom year, 2019, the replacement cycle hasn’t quite run its course, yet.
Grill makers and everyone else who relies on the persistent popularity of grilling are, therefore, banking on another boom in sales in 2025.
My take
The greater ‘grill industry’ may be temporarily in dire straits. But it appears that grilling, as a family activity, is still going strong. In spite of high meat prices and prohibitive equipment replacement costs.
Bottom line? I predict folks will devolve to cooking over campfires before they give up their deeply ingrained craving to grill!
~ Maggie J.