Coin-operated Laundries NAICS 812310

May 8, 2025 - Upgrades Needed to Improve Customer Experience: Survey

• According to a recent American Co-Op Your Views Survey, self-service laundry operators can improve the industry from a customer perspective in several key ways: keeping all equipment in working order (45%), providing a comfortable, safe environment (22%), and keeping an attendant on duty (11%). Nearly a third of self-service laundry owners said that if their average customer had one complaint, it would be that the store’s vending pricing is too high and the drying time is too short. About 23% of respondents said the average customer’s top complaint is that the store is too small, which can create discomfort when busy. Other complaints highlighted in the survey include the store being unattended or the attendant on duty not being helpful (9%), too many machines not working (7%), and not enough attention paid to customer comfort (5%).
• According to a report in CFO Dive, consumer sentiment, an indicator of discretionary spending, fell in large part due to tariff uncertainty and an expectation of higher prices. The final index of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan dropped 8% in April 2025 from the previous month. An index measuring consumers’ expectations for the future fell nearly a third since January, the steepest three-month percentage decline since the 1990 recession. According to survey director Joanne Hsu, “Consumers perceived risks to multiple aspects of the economy, in large part due to ongoing uncertainty around trade policy and the potential for a resurgence of inflation looming ahead.”

• The US coin-operated laundries industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% between 2025 and 2029, according to a forecast from Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. The expected growth rate is faster than the overall economy‘s anticipated growth. The report noted that consumer spending, along with expenditure by businesses, drives the other services sector. Consumer sentiment is expected to improve in the forecast period, which bodes well for the various other services sector industries. Factors that may limit consumer spending are higher tariffs on consumer goods, which may be painful for households. On a positive note, lower inflation supports a moderate increase of real disposable income by about 2% in 2025 and 1.9% in 2026. Real income could suffer to an extent if average prices rise due to tariff implementation.
• In light of President Donald Trump’s recent tariff expansion, a new Reuters report examined the consequences of previous tariffs on imported washing machines in 2018 by the Trump administration, promoted as necessary to protect domestic producers and jobs. As a result of the 2018 tariffs, several foreign manufacturers did rebase some of their production to the US, and domestic manufacturers like Whirlpool boosted employment slightly. A study by the American Economic Review estimated that the tariffs may have brought in 1,800 US jobs. The value of imported laundry equipment also fell during the prior tariff period. In addition to the prices of foreign laundry equipment increasing, ripple effects from tariffs caused domestic producers to raise their prices on washers and set higher prices for dryers which are often sold in a set with washers.