US Arts and Crafts Consumer: 2026

US Arts & Crafts Industry – What You Need to Know

• Social crafting brings crafters together
• Younger makers are shaping the industry
• Video resources are a go-to resource

US Arts & Crafts Consumer – Trends and Insights

• Despite persistent economic pressures, crafting remains resilient: 73% of US adults participated in a crafting project in the past year, confirming its continued popularity as a creative outlet. With ongoing periods of uncertainty, the popularity of arts and crafts highlights the category’s ability to serve as a reliable and flexible leisure pursuit – one that offers value, emotional balance and self-expression across generations.
• In the craft retail space, JOANN’s 2025 bankruptcy and withdrawal from brick-and-mortar retail has shifted market share, heightening consumer expectations of remaining craft retailers. Amazon and Michaels have moved to fill this crafting void, shoppers want to rely on them for more than just product inventory. Supply shopping benefits from the convenience of ecommerce platforms, but with more limited access to in-person retailers, crafters will look to in-person spaces for connection and creativity.
• With a range of crafting skills and interests, there is opportunity for brands to launch smaller budget-friendly, project kits that respond directly to consumer pain points: cost and time. Crafting is likely to remain a popular pursuit, but with continued economic uncertainty, smaller project types may offer crafters more immediate gratification and sense of accomplishment.

This Report Looks at the Following Areas:

• Types of crafts consumers are participating in
• Frequency of crafting
• Motivations and barriers for crafting
• Retailers shopped
• Sources of inspiration for craft projects

Methodology

Consumer Research Methodology

For the purposes of this Report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through Kantar Profiles to explore consumer attitudes and behaviors toward arts and crafts. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in November 2025 among a sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.

Mintel selects survey respondents by gender, age, household income, region, race, ethnicity and parental status so they are proportionally representative of the US adult population using the internet. Mintel also slightly oversamples, relative to the population, respondents who are Hispanic or Black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in our survey results and allow for more precise parameter estimates from our reported findings. Please note that Mintel surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanic consumers who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in our survey results.

While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanic consumers can be of any race.

Consumer research questions

• What types of projects have you worked on in the past 12 months?
• Which of the following activities have you done in the last 12 months?
• How often do you work on creative arts and crafts projects?
• Which of the following best describes your skill level in making arts/crafts?
• Why have you not worked on any arts or crafts projects in the past 12 months?
• Are you crafting more, less or about the same now compared to a year ago?
• Why are you crafting more often now than a year ago?
• Why are you crafting less often now than a year ago?
• Where do you purchase arts and crafts supplies?
• Where do you get inspiration for your creative projects?
• Where do you get inspiration for your creative projects on social media?