The extent to which changes to working habits are impacting the future demand for business products is one of the key themes of new research published this month by OPI and Martin Wilde Associates.
The new research report, The US Business Products Consumer: Trends and Behaviours in 2022-23, is based on in-depth interviews conducted in October 2022 with 400 US business products buyers.
One of the main findings is the way that Americans are working is changing again, with many employees expecting to return to the office in 2023. Indeed, by the end of next year, as many as 57% of respondents’ staff, on average, are expected to work only in the office, compared with 44% at present. This shift is at the expense of hybrid working, which is expected to fall from 41% of all staff on average at present to only 24% by the end of 2023. Nevertheless, the average share of staff working only at home is forecast to increase.
The 120-page report also looks at other factors driving future demand for business supplies, including: the future size of the workforce, projected sales revenues, the amount of time spent in the office by hybrid workers, and even expected changes in the amount of office space used.
It shows that annual budgets for most of the seven broad product categories covered by the survey – traditional stationery, office paper, computer & printer supplies, office furniture, breakroom supplies, cleaning supplies and PPE – are widely expected to increase in 2023, although this varies by category.
The study looks in detail at: how these trends will impact demand patterns for products; which purchasing methods buyers are favouring; changes to the channels supplies are being purchased from.
To order your copy of The US Business Products Consumer: Trends and Behaviours in 2022-23, go to https://www.opi.net/research/trends2022/.
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