Barbecue grills by the numbers

Channel analysis

Price and trusted brand are at the top of the "Reason for Purchase" list, for which consumers are asked to select the three top reasons why they purchased their barbecue grill once inside the store.Examining the various types of grills, gas grills showed the most growth over 2010--a 2.5 percentage point increase in market share. Charcoal grills remained a steady second favorite at 36.3%. Single burners showed significant growth since 2009, perhaps indicative of a new frugality.Demographic analysisIn both the dollar share and unit share tables below, hardware stores seemed to make a nice jump in 2010 compared with 2009, but the stats slipped slightly in 2011.Warehouse home centers clearly dominate the barbecue market, accounting for more than half of the sales.Purchase motivatorsProduct attributesMethodolgy: NPD data are based on monthly tracking of more than 30 home improvement-related categories and 30,000 opt-in consumers.Older consumers and those in the Northeast and West regions are driving sales of barbecues in the 2011 period. And growth in the under-$ 15,000 income bracket could be a good sign for small, portable or tabletop grills.* 2011 data reflect the period June 2010 through May 2011.** WHC = warehouse home center; MM = mass merchant; DS = department store; SS = specialty store; HS = hardware storeConsumer research from Port Washington, N.Y.-based NPD Group shows the market size for barbecue grills held steady at about $1.373 billion during 2011 *, down 0.1% from the prior-year period.

* 2011 data reflect the period June 2010 through May 2011.