HomePage News Top 50 Housewares Retailers of 2024

The HomePage News Top 50 Housewares Retailers rankings provide evidence that major retailers that dominate the market in general are also top when it comes to products for the home.

However, the range of retail channels that generate significant volume of sales provides solid evidence that consumers see value in factors such as shopping convenience while also seeking many items in retail formats that provide specialized assortments, such as sporting goods, often arising from needs based on specific lifestyle preferences.

The diversity of retailers registering significant housewares sales suggests they and their suppliers can find opportunity by developing and providing product lineups that more closely fit functions in which consumers have a special interest.

Lifestyle is generally recognized as a significant driver in housewares, with consumers seeking products aligned to circumstances, such as common kitchen appliances adapted for outdoor use and those that include features for superior performance within the specialty.

Joe Derochowski, home industry advisor at market research and advisory firm Circana, noted that while the ranking demonstrates a fair stability in the retailing of housewares, particularly among the biggest players in the category, it also reveals diversity of sales, with housewares generating significant sales volumes across a variety of store formats.

Change is most apparent in the rankings at the back end of the Top 50, indicative of consumer buying trends playing out at retail. The most prominent retailers are housewares destinations and top of mind for most consumers looking to purchase within the product category. Some consumers may choose major discounters, warehouse clubs, department stores and home centers, the dominant members of the first 10 in the ranking of housewares sales for 2024 as determined by Circana consumer tracking.

However, when looked at in detail, the Top 50 illustrates consumers, even if they are sometimes seen singularly based on where they buy most of their housewares, are quite divergent in their purchasing outlet choices. Consumers might have a go-to retailer or two in mind when purchasing housewares, whether they’re buying an item for the first time, swapping out one item for something similar, or upgrading or downsizing, depending on their living conditions. However, they may do their gift shopping, or at least some of it, at a different retailer.

Consumers who typically shop at mass merchants for their own housewares items may choose a department store operator for some or all of their holiday shopping. A consumer who typically shops department stores for merchandise to enhance their home lives may also spend time shopping at warehouse clubs and drug chains, where they may encounter housewares items while shopping for other kinds of products.

While the uppermost end of the Top 50 makes up a dominant proportion of the ranking’s total sales, the strength of drug chains and supermarkets indicates convenience remains a big factor in housewares purchasing, often in moments of impulse buying inspiration.

Derochowski said a way to look at the Top 50, beyond just consideration of the banners present on it, is to consider not just the “where” but the “what,” just as consumers weigh where they shop for certain housewares products.

So, another way of looking at the opportunity in the product category is to consider the purpose of purchasing housewares.

“They are sold across many occasions and also solve many different needs,” Derochowski said. “Across this list, there are retailers who solve all those needs.”

The importance of impulse purchasing shouldn’t be underestimated, as it’s not just the sudden desire to spend on something inexpensive and immediately moving. When consumers are shopping at retailers that emphasize the treasure hunt in their assortments and merchandise, as is the case with off-price outlets and warehouse clubs, something fresh and exciting can drive a purchase for consumers hoping to be enticed. In the middle of the Top 50 list are three retailers grouped together that are primarily reliant on grocery sales: supercenter operator Meijer at 22, Kroger at 24 and HEB at 25.

Their rankings, based on 2024 performances, are consistent with the 2023 ranking, with Kroger and HEB moving up a bit, and their positioning indicates that, for many consumers, grocery shopping can be an occasion for housewares shopping. If food shoppers spy replacements for worn or out-of-date items, they might choose to make a replacement purchase at supermarkets with relatively strong housewares assortments. However, that doesn’t mean the purchase is random. Many purchases made during other shopping trips are purposeful, as when a shopper picks up a grilling tool as a Father’s Day gift or a tumbler for a student who is off to college. In busy lives, picking up something at a supermarket that allows the consumer to tick off items on their constantly evolving lists drives a lot of purchasing.

The evolution of housewares sales at supermarkets could be bountiful in the future as more consumers shop online for delivery or pickup and decide to purchase beyond food categories from extended digital assortments, perhaps cookware to use in sautéing a new recipe, serveware for a party or insulated mugs for a weekend of relaxation in the backyard.

Although the top retailers represent tremendous housewares destinations with broad assortments within the category, they also serve life moments. Home centers, for example, can supply certain housewares needs for the home. For example, consumers getting ready to spruce up the back yard in spring may appreciate deals not only on garden tools but also on an outdoor pizza oven and durable barware for patio use.

The Big Picture

In looking from 2023 to the present, retail developments, apart from consumer trends, are driving change in the housewares marketplace. Bankruptcies in specialty channels, for example, such as craft and drug stores, are a factor for such change.

Omnichannel operations, balanced between online and physical store components, tend to be characteristics of the uppermost Top 50 retailers and have helped them maintain their positions from year to year. Yet, that doesn’t mean that retailers less dependent on online sales can’t make their presence felt atop the rankings, with the major TJX banners providing a strong case for the value of in-store operations. Dollar stores are another case of a channel that has not fully embraced e-commerce. However, that is gradually changing as retailers there have partnered with third parties, including Dollar Tree’s deal with Ibotta, which provides coordinated promotions across retailer platforms, third-party publisher sites and direct-to-consumer properties; and Dollar General’s investment in the DG Media Network.

Indeed, the attraction of online operations involving loyalty programs and retail media may prompt value retailers who haven’t necessarily been particularly aggressive online to, at least in some cases, push harder on digital operations, which may also make them more prone to expand in areas, such as housewares, in which they aren’t as well represented in stores. In combination, the top two dollar store chains among the HomePage News Top 50 Housewares Retailers did a little better in this year’s rankings. That said, Dollar Tree’s in-store operations have undergone substantial change with its spinoff of Family Dollar (number 23 on the Top 50 list, up from 24 in last year), which traditionally has been less price restrictive than its former sibling. How Dollar Tree acts in the aftermath of the change, in-store and online, where it could grow less price sensitive, may result in a changing position in the Top 50 rankings.

In the Rankings

Not surprisingly, Amazon and Walmart are locked into the number-one and -two spots on the Top 50 list, something that’s not likely to change in the foreseeable future. The top 10 remains the same year over year, but a couple of rankings have flipped. Lowe’s has leveled up to sixth place, while Best Buy slipped one spot to seventh. In a similar development, T.J. Maxx and Kohl’s have changed spots. T.J. Maxx now holds ninth place, while Kohl’s now finds itself in the 10th position among the Top 50 housewares retailers. And it should be noted that Sam’s Club, holding steady in the eighth spot, gives Walmart two operations in the top 10.

Among the next 20 retailers, HomeGoods slipped past Dollar General to rank as number 11 on the chart, with Dollar General down one position. Dick’s Sporting Goods rose three steps to number 13. Ross Dress for Less and Marshalls held onto their number 14 and 15 spots. Meanwhile, Dollar Tree leveled up from 19th position a year earlier to 16th in 2024. Number 17 Walgreens slipped back from 13th position during 2024 when, like CVS, it was rethinking operations on the health services side of the business. Macy’s has a slight drop to 18 from 17. QVC moved into 19th position from 18th. Ulta held on to 20th position.

As the Bed Bath & Beyond operation is being reconstituted online and as plans move forward for physical stores under the ownership of Beyond, Inc. in partnership with former Kirkland’s Home operation (now The Brand House Collective), Bed Bath & Beyond dropped off the Top 50 in 2024. Its former No. 21 spot was taken over by Menards, which hopped over No. 22 Meijer. Family Dollar, as noted, moved up one position to 23. Big Lots, having gone through bankruptcy and a portfolio reduction under new ownership by Variety Wholesalers after filing for Chapter 11 in September of 2024, fell to 27 from 25, with Burlington moving up to 24 from 27. As previously pointed out, Kroger moved up the list to 25 from 28, filling out the top half of the Top 50 and lying in the midst of the pack of grocery-heavy banners, including Meijer and HEB. An argument can be made that BJ’s might be compared to supermarkets rather than warehouse club operators, given its particular emphasis on fresh food and smaller package sizes. BJ’s also demonstrated year-over-year stability with a bit of strength, moving from the 28th to the 29th spot in the Top 50 list.

Among the retail banners making more than slight moves in the bottom half of the Top 25, CVS jumped to 29 from 34, in contrast to Walgreens, which slipped four spots. CVS has declared it would put more emphasis on the stores part of the business, although now defunct Rite Aid and challenges by Walgreens may have helped CVS rise. Rite Aid didn’t make the 2024 rankings, although it only filed for bankruptcy and began an asset sale in May of this year.

Academy Sports made a big gain, to 30 from 38, giving further indication that sporting goods retailers are generating more housewares purchases as outdoor living becomes more popular among consumers. Part of that is generated by housewares vendors extending their product lines with items designed for balconies, patios and camping. REI elevated from 47th to 49th position in this year’s Top 50, although Scheels slipped a bit, from 42 to 45.

Ikea jumped from to 31st position from 36th during a period when it increasingly diversified its store portfolio with smaller formats that allowed it to make inroads in urban and suburban markets where its superstores wouldn’t fit.

Despite encountering troubles in 2024 that led to its bankruptcy and move into creditor ownership this year, At Home moved into the 34th spot from 40, which may be a testament to several years of unit growth that continued through 2023. Although other value retailers gained in the Top 50 rankings, Ollie’s slipped several points, from 31 to 35, even as it added stores. However, the ever-changing product mix at its stores may have played a role at a time when many retailers placed more emphasis on everyday need items. Amidst all the other shifts, JCPenney slipped one spot to land at 36 in this year’s Top 50.

Ace Hardware slipped three places to 33 this year, although the cooperative has been growing, which may be another product mix factor. For its part, Harbor Freight Tools slipped a single spot to 40, and, as noted, Menards also moved up a position. It’s noteworthy that Lowe’s gained one place in the rankings to number six while Home Depot stayed pat at number five during a year when the COVID-19-fueled boom in the do-it-yourself/hardware store sector finally faded.

Although not quite in the same channel, but one that’s got some overlap, Tractor Supply managed to jump to 39th place from 45th in the year-earlier Top 50 rankings.

Sur La Table surged to 37 from 43 after pushing store openings and expanding digital operations beginning in 2023. For its part, Williams-Sonoma stayed right where it was a year previous, ranked 32. After being absent from last year’s list, Crate & Barrel appeared at 48 in this year’s rankings, indicating that although trends have suggested consumers are favoring value retailing as inflation and other macroeconomic issues loom, shoppers continue to appreciate upmarket purveyors of household goods.

Michaels moved up to 38 from 41 as its direct crafting competitors have faltered during the past several years. JoAnn, which ranked 43 in this year’s Top 50 from 44 in the year before, went dark in 2025.

Wayfair, which was in turnaround mode in 2024, slipped from 33 to 41. QVC slipped only slightly in 2024 from 2023, but its sister division, HSN, fell five places from 37 to 42, as the parent company, now known as QVC Group, shifts to a focus on streaming from linear TV.

Five Below moved up to 46th place from 50th in the year-prior Top 50.

Absent a year ago, Beall’s made a nice jump onto the Top 50 rankings, coming in at 44. Others absent from last year’s list but in the most recent version were Woot.com and Kroger division Fred Meyer, 49 and 50, respectively. In the meantime, Sephora and Fingerhut, which appeared on last year’s list, were absent from this year’s rankings.