By far the biggest category of products in the 2006 Universe Study is decorative accessories, renamed this year to more accurately reflect the content of the category. At $22.6 billion estimated for 2006 and a 4.1% growth projected for 2007 to put the total at $23.5 billion, decorative accessories are definitely the driving force of the Universe.

It's easy to see why: the breadth of product combined with the overwhelming number of outlets. In short, just about every kind of store sells a few decorative accessories. At various price points, everything from bookends and candlesticks to baskets and figurines, from garden accessories to candles count as decorative accessories.

For the first time, the collectibles category is counted in decorative accessories. Collectibles have struggled for several years, with the market moving to the Internet, specifically eBay. That being said, there still are several product lines that perform well in the market.

Decorative accessories are the backbone category for home accent/gift stores with sales of $8.5 billion in 2005 and estimated sales of $8.8 billion in 2006 for 39% of the market. With savvy buying and merchandising, smart independent retailers have made this product category one of the distinguishing characteristics of their stores.

In the direct-to-consumer channel, especially catalogs, the category is strong with 2005 sales of $4.1 billion projected to grow to $4.3 billion for 2006, slightly more than 19% of the market. As is true in other categories, both catalogs and the Internet are extremely suitable for selling decorative accessories.

Sheer numbers of stores open and planned for 2007 in the discount department store/off-price retailer channel make that group a major player with an estimated 18% of the market and estimated 2006 sales of $4.1 billion. With stores like Kohl's reporting comp store sales increases in the first nine months of 2006 at 7.3% and Ross reporting comp store sales for the same period up 5%, decorative accessories are likely playing a major role in this growth.