The microwave rules, while ovens take a back seat and the iron may be on its way out – the latest trends report from UK homeware favourite Lakeland is revealing some radical lifestyle changes as we become less formal.
Some 30 percent of 18–34-year-olds don’t own an iron. When asked why, 20 percent claimed that it was because “none of their clothes needed ironing” and a further 20 percent said that ironing clothes “is not important to me”. The gulf between age groups is significant too as 90 percent of those 45 and over, do own an iron and use it regularly.
Findings also suggest that ownership of a microwave has now overtaken owning an oven, for the first time. While just a slim difference (88 percent versus 87 percent), this shift is likely down to several factors, including more compact living, particularly in cities, alongside the cost-of-living crisis, as oven usage is more expensive versus its microwave counterpart.
Overall, there have been lots of products falling out of favour in 2023, while new contenders sweep in to replace them. Sales of heated throws were up 250 percent versus the previous year, proving that the “heat the person, not the home” mantra is not slowing down.
Sales of bread makers were down 37 percent, as households focused less on loaves and more on air frying. Also down 37 percent on the previous year were sales of tablecloths, as homes eschewed formal dining in favour of more relaxed, convivial meal times.
Coffee machine sales also surged, with 43 percent of UK homes now owning one. Falling majorly out of favour was the once iconic spiralizer, with just seven per cent of UK homes owning these, versus 12 percent in 2018.
Another trend was the UK’s increasing love affair with DIY cleaning tips, as brought to life by the rising number of social media “cleanfluencers”.
For the first time, the report analysed the most popular hacks, with 17 percent of 18–24-year-olds regularly using shaving cream to clean mirrors, 15 percent using dishwasher tablets to clean the oven and eight per cent admitting to buying denture tablets, solely to whiten their clothes.
This year, 38 percent of respondents confirmed that the tumble dryer had fallen hugely out of favour, due to both price and environmental factors.
In most UK regions, radiators or outdoors were the most common ways to dry laundry. The only exception being in London, where the heated airer took the top spot. Likely due to outdoor space being less in the capital city than elsewhere, heated airers are predicted to be a major seller at Lakeland in 2024, already up by 51 percent this year.
And air fryers are still tops, with 45 percent of UK homes now owning one.
As a nation we’re getting more ambitious with our air fryer creations too. Sixteen percent of respondents have cooked an entire roast dinner in one, while 24 percent have used theirs to cook steaks and three per cent have even notched up a successful birthday cake.
