Design & Crafts Council Ireland Survey Results
We conducted a survey in October/November of this year, where 161 businesses responded. Thank you for taking part, your feedback is important to us to continue to improve.
From the survey sample, 20% are high volume businesses; 50% are full time businesses and 47% are exporting products.
With the cost of living continuing to be a challenge for consumers and amid economic uncertainty it is perhaps unsurprising that 57% of DCCI clients surveyed believe the economic environment is disimproving. Most affected are ‘high-volume’ producers.
Nearly two-thirds of makers expect full-year sales in 2025 will be the same or better than last year. However, the remaining 37% expect 2025 sales to be lower. It is to be hoped that the important Q4 sales period turns out better than many expect.
In a continuation of a recent trend there has been an increase in the proportion of makers who predominantly sell via ‘indirect’ sales channels. Though this can impact profitability it is a positive trend where makers concentrate on the task of production while third-parties concentrate on the commercial side.
Despite the recent imposition of U.S. tariffs and a noted decline in shipments to that market, it is encouraging to see that the craft sector’s export profile remains strong. A total of 47% of clients have exported products in 2025 according to the recent survey. This is the same proportion who were doing so in 2024. This is very positive in light of current economic uncertainty.
