The booming scrapbooking market in the USA

Purpose – The interest in scrapbooking across the USA has boomed virtually overnight. Sales have skyrocketed from $500 million in 2000 to $2.5 billion in 2003. Is the interest based on a great deal of scrapbooking hype and investment with little long‐term industry profitability, like the electronics “dot com” boom and bust? Or is there some other scenario developing here?Design/methodology/approach – Data were developed from: a mail survey of 596 scrapbooking hobbyists; discussions with persons in the industry; and an extensive review of the available literature. The mailing yielded a surprising 30 percent return to a lengthy 58‐question instrument. All the respondents were subscribers to a scrapbooking magazine, possibly indicating persons highly involved with the hobby. The analysis focused on a better understanding of the long‐term viability of the scrapbooking market by addressing the questions posed above.Findings – Scrapbooking respondents have a family‐oriented culture, are economically upscale, ar...