With the recent takeover of computers in more or less every area of our day-to-day lives, you’d think that the need for office stationary and supplies would be all but obsolete. Against all expectations however, The Global Office Stationery, Supplies, and Services market is growing at a steady rate across the globe at an anticipated CAGR of 3.63 percent for the 2012-2016.
In 2012, the Paper-based Office Products segment dominated the market with a share of over 50 percent—surprisingly, considering how big the “go paperless” movement has been these days. The use of paper-based stationery items in conjunction with electronic equipment, such as printers, copiers, plotters, and fax machines however, guarantees this sector’s stability.
On the other end of the spectrum, the writing instruments segment represents the smallest share of the market, and is witnessing a negative growth rate. Although writing instruments are still a vital part in the daily routine of school-going children and adults in the working world, the fact remains the keyboards, touch screens, and digitalized styluses are quickly rendering pens and pencils as useless.
Even as the electronic world continues expanding however, there are a few trends that are likely to keep the Office Stationary, Supplies, and Services market afloat for the foreseeable future. Namely, the following:
- Increasing Adoption of Luxury Stationery Items
- Increasing Innovation in Products and Designs through R&D
- Growing Impact of Seasonal and Cyclic Trends
- Increasing Demand for Multipurpose Devices
- Decreasing Demand for Carbon Papers and Inked Ribbons
At the end of the day, there are certain things that simply can’t be replaced by a digital tool—the act of handwriting a message on a greeting card for instance, or writing a personal reminder on a post-it note for easy reference. Digital may be the “way of tomorrow”, but it’s unlikely that it will ever be the only away –at least not in the foreseeable future. For this reason, we at TechNavio are confident that The Global Office Stationery, Supplies, and Services market will be sticking around for quite a while.
For more information, view our 2012-2016 Global Office Stationery, Supplies, and Services market report.
