US water dispenser market nears 8m installed units – report

The US water dispenser market grew to almost 8 million installed units by the end of 2018, according to a new report released by market research firm Zenith Global.

According to the research, the US market has grown by an average of 4.4% annually between 2014 and 2018, and the report anticipates that the number of water dispensers in the US will increase by a further 1.3 million to a total of 9.2 million by 2023.

While mains-fed (POU) units have developed faster than the overall market – rising by an average 8.8% a year to nearly 2 million installed units in December 2018 – bottled water dispensers account for 75% of the installed cooler base in the US.

Despite the rise in installed dispensers in the US, overall market revenue fell in 2018, which Zenith attributed to the rise of unit sales directly to consumers, with many customers preferring to purchase bottled water dispensers instead of renting.

Zenith Global senior consultant Pam Jones said: “A key trend we have identified is a shift towards customers buying units instead of renting them. The overall US market is now worth more than $4.5 billion.”

Despite the revenue fall in 2018, the report claims that market revenue is gradually being replaced by higher-priced mains-fed (POU) unit rentals, and Jones claims that several factors have boosted the adoption of mains-fed dispensers.

“American consumers have become more concerned about cost, convenience and the environment.

“Mains-fed point of use distributors have clearly benefited from these wider trends”.

Integrated tap systems are also included in the report for the first time, driven by the consistent growth of the segment over the last few years.