I just assumed they never took off here because tea isn't as popular in America. The only people I know who own kettles in America are people who regularly drink tea, including myself.
Or pourover coffee which, at least anecdotally, I've seen become much more popular over the years.
I drink both, but now use my kettle almost exclusively for the awful indulgence of pre-mug warming before dropping in the espresso from my stove-top pot.
So, my roomie is an ex barista. She only does pour over coffee with a Melitta cone and filter. (My wife like K-cups, but they need filtering to get the grounds out.) We have an electric kettle, which we just had to replace because the 15 year old one stopped heating completely.
We also just bought a couple of hot water bottles...
I also use mine to make coffee (via a French press).