Piaras Kelly PR – Public Relations in Ireland

The Central Statistics Office released some information last week which underlined that Ireland is in the midst of a cocooning trend. Pamela Danziger points out that “the cocooning, or nesting, trend (as it is variously called) was identified in the mid 1980s by trend tracker Faith Popcorn to describe how people how people were turning their focus inward to hearth and home. The trend was largely driven by demographics, because during that period the baby boomers were in the cocooning phase of life, the period when they were raising young children, and practical necessity kept them grounded at home. So they turned their focus toward home decorating and home entertainment.”

The Irish Times highlighted (subscription required) a number of statistics from the CSO reports including:

> Planning permission applications for new houses fell by nine per cent in the first quarter of this year
> Number of applications for extensions were up by 13 per cent
> Sales of hardware, paint and glass were up by 15 per cent up this May

While the trend is reaching Irish shores now, there are a number of different factors influencing it here. The windfall of SSIA funds has lined Irish consumers pockets. However rather than blow their windfall, a culture of saving has started to develop. All the same, consumers are indulging themselves with some treats. Car sales, foreign holidays and home improvements are on the up. In addition, young families have decided that they would rather live in the suburbs or in surrounding counties around Dublin. Faced with long commutes they have decided that their home will be their castle and what precious time they get to spend in it will be well spent. The net result is rising sales of plasma screens and patios. Lastly, there are numerous homeowners caught in a property trap. Faced with rising interest rates and an insecure property market, they are unable to trade up. Instead their focus has turned to home decorating and home entertainment.

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