I recently read an article in Business Insider on the continued growth of the patio heater market, and I was pretty surprised by what it revealed.
The writer talked about how the pandemic forced people outside, with patio seating at restaurants (remember those pop-up outdoor dining areas in cities like NYC?) becoming necessary for eateries to operate during social distancing.
At the same time, homeowners living in lockdown built decks and other outdoor spaces at their homes, affording themselves a sense of escape when travel wasn’t yet safe. And to make those spaces usable beyond the warm-weather months, both businesses and individuals purchased heating lamps and other warmers for their outdoor areas.
While the pandemic has waned, those outdoor spaces remain, and people want to use them as much as possible. And though sales of other categories in furnishings have lagged since post-pandemic highs, outdoor heaters have remained, well, hot.
According to Adobe Digital Insights, which tracks online sales during major shopping events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, spending on outdoor heaters ramped up earlier than it did in 2023.
Sales of outdoor heaters soared 314% during Cyber Week (Dec. 2-8, 2024) compared to daily average sales in October. And heaters outsold the overall appliance category by 262%, with tabletop and portable models leading the charge.
Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, told Business Insider that those shoppers aren’t just first-time buyers — many were making repeat purchases.
“If we think about the pandemic, we’re about four years outside of that,” he said. “You then have a cycle where maybe consumers are replacing certain items or interested in getting certain items.”
Though outdoor heaters are popular, many consumers are unaware of all the available options beyond the typical standup model you see at restaurants or traditional fire pits. And they often don’t understand the difference between an inexpensive heater and a more pricey — and usually higher-quality — model.
This is where casual manufacturers and retailers have an opportunity to reach this growing customer segment. Education is key, and that can be as simple as letting customers know that a.) you have heating products, and b.) you can offer guidance on choosing the right item for their home.
Offering the right assortment of heating products plays a part, too. You might have fire pits suitable for a large patio, but do you have tabletop units that could work on a balcony? One size doesn’t fit all for furniture, and the same goes for heaters.
And obviously, since these statistics are based on online sales, having a robust website where consumers can compare products, get information and also shop — or at the very least see inventory that they can find in a brick-and-mortar store — is ideal.
With winter’s chill dipping even into the Deep South this year — who could forget the snowstorm that hit New Orleans in January — many more folks may be thinking about investing in some sort of heater for their outdoor space. And adding or expanding heating products in your assortment could help you tap into a category that’s on the rise.
