The 2025 Global Licensing Industry Study was recently released by Licensing International, the industry’s trade association, and it’s a good read.
Retailers, manufacturers and brand owners will be especially interested in the persuasive data making the case that licensing deserves a place in the toolbox of most consumer-facing companies. That’s because the bonus of additional sales and market reach is immense. The study suggests that companies, whether big or small, may be doing themselves a disservice by failing to investigate licensing opportunities.
A $32 Billion Pie
How many fandom dollars are homewares shoppers giving up for the intellectual properties they love and trust? More than you might think. Last year, consumers in the US/Canada region spent $32 billion (about $98 per person in the US) on home products and services that featured a licensed image or name. This tally represents four categories: home décor, lawn/garden/tools/hardware, housewares and pet-related products.
It’s a gargantuan amount on par with ExxonMobil’s profit earnings last year.
Globally speaking, the numbers are even more astonishing. The same four categories in 2024 rang up more than $52 billion internationally. That represents 14% of the $370 billion in global retail sales of licensed goods and services, up 3.7% over 2023’s total.
These massive sales numbers are too big to ignore.
Total U.S. & Canada Sales (Growth in Dollars)
| Category | 2024 Sales | 2023 Sales | Change |
| Housewares | $4.92B | $4.88B | + $40M |
| Pets | $1.03B | $924M | + $106M |
| Home Décor | $18.83B | $18.62B | + $207M |
| Garden | $7.18B | $7.18B | + $1M |
| Total | $31.96B | $31.61B | + $354M |
A Sales Magnet
Because of the emotional bond consumers feel toward a cherished brand—perhaps a shelter magazine symbolizing a certain lifestyle, a high-performance prestige appliance, or even a character too adorable to resist—consumers will typically find dollars to support the brands that make them feel good. These intangibles are powerful drivers of licensed-product sales that tend to be sustained, even in challenging economic and social times. In fact, a focus on this “feel good” factor is about to get sharper; several consumer data firms contend that emotional well-being is as important to consumers as physical health, if not more so.
In some ways, licensed products, especially for the home, help consumers to extend the “good feels” that certain properties evoke.
“Through brand licensing, consumers can bring beloved IPs from categories like Characters/Entertainment and Publishing into their homes,” said Maura Regan, President of Licensing International. “In addition to bringing brands and characters to life beyond the screen or page, these products allow consumers to continue to engage with brands far beyond the time they would spend with new content launches.”
This makes some business sense, as the newest generation of adults could be stereotyped as homebodies due to their preference to socialize by way of house parties and entertaining at home.
2024 Licensing Category Sales
| Property | Housewares Sales |
| Character/Entertainment | $771M |
| Corporate | $2.57B |
| Sports | $367M |
| Fashion | $319M |
| Publishing | $186M |
| Collegiate | $159M |
| Celebrity | $243M |
| Music | $83M |
| Art | $163M |
| Non-Profit | $54M |
| Total | $4.92B |
Leading and Upcoming Players
Diverse types of intellectual properties thrive in the homewares space. The top three realms over the past few years have been publishing, corporate trademarks (think food and food-related brands) and character entertainment.
Consumers love their teams and the sense of belonging they inspire. While big-name sports domains are finding joy at retail, high potential also lies in US properties that are just emerging with merchandise. Consider women’s professional sports and international associations aligned with car racing, cricket and soccer. Fans are looking for ways to decorate and entertain while showcasing their favorites.
Embracing The Opportunity
If licensing is not already part of your strategy, it’s not too late to benefit from it. Begin by conducting a market audit of your category and adjacent spaces. Learn what appeals to your stakeholders and customers. Talk to people in the industry within your network and find an expert who can help you figure out if licensing is for you, how to mitigate risk and how to leverage it to achieve your goals.
Alternatively, you can engage a licensing consultant to guide your journey and support you through everything from identifying the best properties for your business to negotiating contracts (full disclosure: Project Partners Network has specialized in licensing consulting for over 25 years). A good consultant can be found through networking, at trade shows and through contact with the global trade association, Licensing International.
Regardless of the method you choose, remember that your licensing goals can extend beyond sales. Buzz/relevance, nostalgia/comfort and identity/belonging are often as important to success as financial gain. Licensing is perfectly positioned to make the most of all these intangibles, and more.
