Durable goods manufacturers will enter a diverse 2026, where the landscape is expected to evolve across multiple dimensions. Consumers are refining how they assess value, supply chains are becoming more regional, and the market is shifting toward both accessible and premium offerings. At the same time, digital channels, services, and circular models are expanding the way one can engage customers and capture value throughout the lifecycle.
These developments are reshaping how the industry competes and performs. Manufacturers that adapt with clarity, by refining their positioning, strengthening resilience, and investing in new capabilities, will be well placed to navigate this environment. We have outlined the key trends influencing the 2026 landscape and the strategic responses to benefit.
Trends in durables
Market pressures
Tariffs continue to reshape sourcing and pricing
Tariffs will remain a structural force in the 2026 durable-goods landscape. Ongoing US–China tensions, EU anti-dumping measures, and broader geopolitical fragmentation are reshaping sourcing strategies, raising import costs, and injecting volatility into pricing and financial planning.
Manufacturers must now navigate a patchwork of regulations and build scenarios for trade flows and supply-chain resilience, accelerating reshoring and nearshoring.
Action: In this environment, companies that understand precisely where they hold pricing power (by product, channel, or segment) are the ones that protect margins and even gain share. Pricing is no longer about broad increases, but about surgical, value-based adjustments informed by real market data, turning volatility into a competitive advantage rather than a threat.
Deflationary pressure is driven by inventory overstock and declining willingness-to-pay
Across most durable categories, supply is now outpacing demand, a gap driven both by structural inventory overstock and by a noticeable decline in consumers’ willingness-to-pay. Excess stock accumulated during the post-pandemic recovery is meeting increasingly cautious demand, amplifying deflationary pressure and pushing brands toward heavier, more frequent promotions. These dynamics fuel a discount cycle that erodes margins and intensifies price wars, particularly in home electronics and furniture.
Action: To counter this, manufacturers should shift from reactive discounting to proactive demand and portfolio management (through finer forecasting, portfolio rationalization, and smarter stock allocation) to better protect margins and pricing power. In parallel, companies that use more disciplined, data-driven promotional strategies are best positioned to defend profitability and avoid being pulled into destructive price competition.
Supply chain transformation
Nearshoring is reshaping global sourcing networks
Nearshoring is accelerating as durable-goods companies rethink sourcing models under growing geopolitical, regulatory, and sustainability pressures. Trade tensions, tariff exposure, carbon mandates, and repeated supply-chain shocks have weakened the case for low-cost offshore hubs, prompting a shift toward regional, multi-country networks (Vietnam and India for electronics, Mexico for tools and appliances, and Eastern Europe or Türkiye for furniture). This transition boosts resilience, shortens lead times, and supports repair and refurbishment flows, but it also raises production costs in several categories, pushing some brands to adjust prices or reposition their offer.
Action: Companies that already produce locally, or have moved earlier toward regionalized footprints, are structurally advantaged, benefiting from shorter supply chains, greater agility, and reduced exposure to trade volatility. Nearshoring is now a structural market trend, one that is reshaping cost structures, competitiveness, and the long-term footprint of durable-goods supply chains.
Consumer behavior shifts
The middle market is shrinking toward premium and value
With rising energy, labor, and input costs feeding into persistent inflation, households are becoming more selective and increasingly focused on value for money. This pressure is squeezing the middle of the market and pushing consumers toward two extremes: affordable value and private-label products on one side, and premium, well-designed, eco-friendly offerings on the other. As cost-driven trade-offs intensify, some shoppers downtrading, others investing in more premium items, the traditional mass segment shrinks.
Action: In this environment, players with strong value propositions, whether value-oriented or premium, are structurally better positioned to gain share. For manufacturers, the imperative is clear: clarify the offer and commit more to one of these two ends of the market, rather than attempting to defend an eroding middle ground.
Consumer trust is eroding
Consumer trust is set to weaken further in 2026 as several structural forces converge. After three years of sustained price inflation, many shoppers have become skeptical that higher prices reflect real improvements in quality or durability, and they increasingly expect new rounds of tariffs or trade tensions to push prices even higher. At the same time, greater choice and inconsistent product quality across channels make it harder to assess value with confidence. This uncertainty is prompting households to reduce discretionary spending: in France, durable-goods consumption fell by 3.9% in January 2025, a clear sign that inflation and tighter budgets are weighing on demand. While in the UK, household consumption grew by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter, but this increase was driven almost entirely by Housing and Energy Services, while the “Miscellaneous Goods and Services” category, which includes part of durable goods, made a negative contribution of -0.6%.
Action: As a result, trust in brands is no longer assumed; it must be earned through transparency, consistent reliability, and tangible proof of performance.
Strategic responses for durable goods manufacturers
How manufacturers are adapting to this new landscape
As margins come under pressure and consumer expectations shift, manufacturers are rethinking their portfolio and business models. Rather than relying solely on the existing portfolio and new product sales, they are reevaluating their portfolios, focusing on the extremes, rather than middle market segment and expanding into services, subscriptions, and lifecycle value to build resilience, deepen customer relationships, and unlock new profit pools. Five strategic levers are emerging across the industry:
Reevaluating and repositioning the portfolio
The traditional consumer is pushed to the extremes in terms of willingness to pay, either moving to the value for money segment or the premium segment. This move leaves producers that do not have a clearly defined offering for either of these segments with something that is neither fish nor fowl. Companies should either clarify the offer and target their messaging accordingly or invest in additions to the existing portfolio that more clearly focus on either end of the market.
Response: Attempting to defend an eroding middle ground is not considered a winning strategy, as both in the short term and the longer term pressure is expected to build, with competition arising on both sides of the spectrum.
Strengthening Direct-to-Consumer capabilities
D2C capabilities in durable goods are starting to mature, with brands seeing growing traffic and clearer interest from consumers who want trusted, brand-authored information. Yet the channel still converts only around 1% of white-goods sales, showing that the foundation is in place but the full potential is far from realized.
Response: As promotional pressure intensifies and willingness-to-pay declines, D2C becomes especially valuable: it allows manufacturers to articulate their value proposition directly, reduce reliance on retailer-driven discounting, and create a more controlled, differentiated purchase experience. Stronger D2C ecosystems also provide richer data, enabling more precise pricing, better targeting, and higher conversion, key advantages in a market where margins are under pressure.
Building stronger aftermarket services
Aftermarket services, such as maintenance, repairs, upgrades, installation, extended care, are gaining traction as consumers keep products longer and expect support throughout the lifecycle. They also strengthen D2C by providing recurring touchpoints that reinforce loyalty and reduce dependence on retailers.
Response: Strategically, aftermarket services help manufacturers counter weak replacement cycles and soften the impact of slowing new-product demand: they create more resilient, higher-margin revenue streams and enhance the perceived value of the brand, even when consumers hesitate to make new purchases.
Scaling “Durable-as-a-Service” (DaaS)
Circular and service-based models are rapidly scaling and gaining traction.
Emerging models include:
- Equipment subscriptions (tools, premium kitchen appliances)
- Leasing for bikes and e-bikes
- Service bundles with updates and repairs included (repair-as-a-service, maintenance plans, upgrade programs)
They are particularly effective in today's environment of higher prices and lower willingness-to-pay, as they lower the upfront cost for consumers while keeping them within the brand ecosystem. For manufacturers, DaaS provides steadier, recurring revenues and reduces exposure to volatile replacement cycles.
Response: Economically, these models have proven to deliver +15–20% topline, 10–15% material cost reductions, and margins comparable to traditional sales at scale, making them a strong response to shrinking demand and rising cost pressure.
Developing formal re-commerce capabilities
Re-commerce is becoming a structured second market across certified electronics, second-life furniture, refurbished bikes, and professional tools. As trust erodes and consumers scrutinize value more carefully, certified refurbishment provides reassurance on quality and durability, helping align perceived value with price.
Response: For manufacturers and retailers, re-commerce increases customer lifetime value, brings new consumers into the brand at lower price points, and supports circularity ambitions. It is both a response to affordability constraints and a way to preserve brand equity in a market where shoppers increasingly seek “quality at the right price.”
Conclusion
As the sector enters 2026, durable-goods players face clear pressures but also meaningful opportunities. Those able to strengthen consumer trust, elevate value, and pivot toward services, re-commerce, and more resilient supply chains will be best positioned to shape the next phase of growth. In a market defined by tighter budgets and higher expectations, advantage will go to the companies that adapt fastest and execute with focus.
