ELMWOOD PARK, N.J., Feb. 7, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) is pleased to announce the results of the first-ever study of the Canadian craft consumer. The CHA Canada 2011 Attitude & Usage Study is a custom research study commissioned to better understand consumer craft spending and behavior in Canada. The CHA Canadian A &U found that 44 percent of Canadian households participated in crafting at least once during 2011 creating a 2.8 billion US Dollar Canadian craft and hobby industry.
The year-long study tracked Canadian consumer attitudes and behaviors toward crafting and the results offer retailers and manufacturer's important information to help with future planning and business growth in regards to: emerging trends in the industry, shopping behavior, and cross participation among craft segments. The research results were compared across five Canadian regions, Ontario, Quebec, the Eastern Provinces, the Prairie Provinces and British Colombia.
"The (CHA) Canadian Attitude & Usage Study offers the industry a better picture of consumer craft behavior, identifies the most popular craft segments, and provides a deeper look at the diverse categories and sectors that compose the Canadian craft and hobby industry," explained Andrej Suskavcevic, president and CEO of the Craft & Hobby Association.
The CHA Canadian 2011 A &U Study identified the top five crafting segments* based on consumer spending:
1. Woodworking/ Wood Crafts (299 million USD)
2. Scrapbooking/Memory Crafts (176 million USD)
3. Knitting (143 million USD)
4. Food Crafting (137 million USD)
5. Home Décor Crafts – Non-Sewing ( 121 million USD)
*Based on 5.7 million Canadian households
Additionally, the Canadian A &U Study tracked consumer reported sales and other metrics across eight broad categories, comprised of 54 individual craft segments. Top craft categories include: General Crafts (872 million USD), Needle Crafts (333 million USD), Paper & Memory Crafts (334 million USD), Artistic Crafts (314 million USD), Sewing Crafts (293 million USD), Fine Arts (293 million USD), Floral Crafts (167 million USD) and Jewelry & Bead Crafts (145 million USD).
Other deep dive results in the Study list both top national and regional crafting segments by average project spending; average number of projects produced a year, and household participation. There is also interesting data that highlights provincial differences as well as differences between crafting in Quebec versus the rest of Canada.
The CHA Canada 2011 Attitude & Usage Study was fielded by a major global market research survey provider on behalf of the Craft & Hobby Association and was conducted in both English and French. The study followed the same methodology used in the CHA A &U Study conducted in the United States.
Complete reports are available free to CHA members on www.craftandhobby.org or for purchase by non-members via email request to Keri Cunningham, Marketing Manager, at kcunningham@craftandhobby.org.
About the Craft & Hobby Association
The Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) is an international not-for-profit trade association consisting of thousands of member companies engaged in the design, manufacture, distribution and retail sales of products worldwide including the near 30 billion dollar U.S. craft and hobby industry. For more information about CHA membership or its award-winning Conferences & Trade Shows visit www.craftandhobby.org.
Victor Domine
vdomine@craftandhobby.org
201-835-1224