Monthly Issue
From Home Furnishing Business
July 15,
2020 by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry 
The conversation around this category tends to focus heavily on its features—voice activation recline, cup holders, USB chargers, and the like. While these features are undoubtedly important, today’s conversation needs to shed light on topics we are currently grappling with like the pandemic, low stock, and tariffs. Are manufacturers stepping up with solutions? One manufacturer’s approach is enlightening, though their techniques are not exactly new to the company. According to Anthony A. Teague, senior vice president of sales and merchandising at Jackson Catnapper, “In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, dealers are more reluctant to import than ever. Domestic supply has become more important to our retailers across the country.
Fears over the growing tension between the U.S. and China has raised concerns of long-lasting tariffs. Also, our customers don’t want the risk of tying up cash for months with imports as they begin to rebuild their businesses. Providing a stateside alternative to import leather motion - with cleaner looks, luxurious Italian leathers, and aggressive pricing - has allowed us to gain significant share in the category.”
Considering the tumult that has defined our year thus far, consumers are purchasing furniture via retailer websites, by appointment, or as regular walk-in traffic where possible. Many retailers are seeing record-breaking sales results while juggling supply chain and delivery issues. This brings us to the ultimate question: what are consumers looking for in their motion furniture purchases? Luckily we can lean on a FurnitureCore, Inc. survey developed by Impact Consulting Services, parent company to Home Furnishings Business, to address exactly what consumers want.
According to the survey, consumers were asked which mechanisms are preferred as a reclining method. The results were hand operated (lever) models at 53.33%, followed by power operated models at 33.33%, and body pressure, or push back models, coming in last at 13.33%. These preferred mechanisms seem to be price driven as the same survey also polled consumers on how much more they would be willing to pay for a power recliner as opposed to a manually operated recliner. The top response was only $50 more at 37.5% of surveyed consumers. 25% of those surveyed would pay $100 more for a power reclining model, 12.5% would pay $150 more, and the remaining 25% would pay $200 or more for power options.
Ultimately, the consumer must understand the value in power and motion products: comfort. Says Gentry Long, vice president at HomeStretch, “Our custom comfort collection continues to excel on retail floors. Consumers in the market for motion furniture expect exceptional comfort, a durable covering and unique function.” When consumers are shopping upholstery, the retail sales associate must make them aware of their options. The same study conducted by FurnitureCore, Inc. found that only roughly half of consumers are informed of the reclining and power options available in an upholstered product. Let’s drive those average tickets up by highlighting the great advances in the power and motion category!
June 3,
2020 by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry
The many sales tactics that can be utilized, such as selling as part of a seating group or as an individual cash-and-carry sale, will help captivate your customer—but merchandising will be key. As the industry continues to see the growth of Generation X and Millennials as the target audience, retailers will need to shake up their merchandising assortment to reflect their style. Manufacturer Durham Furniture has developed thoughtful solutions for retailers in their bestselling, customizable collection.
“Our contemporary-styled Milestone Collection was designed to reach the next generation of consumers and the interior design community,” said Luke Simpson, president and chief executive officer of Durham Furniture. “The style and design is more in-tune with what the younger generation of consumers are looking for and the mixed media look gives our design partners the diversity in texture and materials that they often seek when designing more contemporary spaces. The group is available in any of Durham’s more than 50 finishes, allowing our customers to express their individual style, a key selling point and benefit of our products on the retail sales floor.” Durham Furniture is not the only manufacturer that embraces the power of customization. Especially in our current climate that is grappling with the realities of newly implemented tariffs compounded by the ongoing Coronavirus wreaking havoc on manufacturing and shipping, American made furniture has found additional momentum. “Simply Amish makes a lot of occasionals, and on our Standard Order end tables, most can be raised or lowered up to 6” without a custom quote,” says Charles Curry, vice president of sales and strategy of Simply Amish. “American made occasional pieces, especially with custom options, are as hard to find as a white buffalo.”
When consumers walk onto the retail sales floor, what are they anticipating for their occasional furniture purchase? While the fastest growing section of occasional furniture is accent furniture, which includes bars, breakfronts, and the like growing 7.1% and exceeding the overall growth of the occasional category at 5.6%, we analyzed the general style that consumers are searching for. According to the same FurnitureCore, Inc. study, when consumers were asked what the style of their most recent occasional table purchase was, a tie was found between traditional and contemporary at 32.47%, followed at 15.58% by country/rustic. The remaining responses where European at 9.10%, mission/shaker at 5.19%, and transitional at 5.19%.
February 17,
2020 by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry
Without question, social media has impacted how consumers are influenced by home trends from designers showcasing their most recent project to personal friends posting photos of their latest décor purchases perfectly positioned for their Instagram feed. A simple search of ‘rugs’ on Pinterest leads consumers not just to images suggesting the latest colorways and layering techniques, but where to purchase the product online. This vein of social media grew from simply influencing consumers to directing them to online retailers. The good news is that the exposure has driven sales in the category.
“The rug industry has grown and impacted the economy greatly thanks to the growing interest of consumers towards interior decoration and the rise in remodeling activities,” says Paola Bradfield, Tayse marketing supervisor. “There is no doubt the revolution of technology and easy access to information and products that are one click away from purchase has also significantly increased sales and influenced our industry by raising standards of quality and trend awareness.”
Based on consumer research conducted by FurnitureCore, Inc., the research arm of Home Furnishings Business, consumers were asked where they made their most recent rug purchase. The largest cluster reported purchasing their rug online at 30.77%. Luckily for the traditional retailer, the second largest cluster at 25% reported making their most recent rug purchase at a traditional furniture store. Mass merchants were next at 17.31%, followed by home improvement stores at 15.38%. The remaining 11.54% purchased from a floor covering store. With consumers who are armed with research and online influence, retailers need to have the necessary product knowledge on hand to convince customers to make in store purchases in order to maintain marketshare and negate online purchases.
Rachel Fasciani, vice president, licensing and marketing at Momeni, has noted this consumer awareness saying, “We’re seeing a resurgence of interest in better goods in our offerings. Consumers recognize the value of higher quality products while retailers appreciate the opportunity for higher returns.” The same FurnitureCore study backs this and found that consumers are willing to spend a significant amount in order to make a quality purchase that they expect to last for years to come.
When asked how much was spent on their most recent rug purchase, 19.23% of consumers reported a purchase of $800-$1,499. A surprising 7.7% of consumers reported spending $1,500+ on their purchase. The same survey polled consumers and the length of time they expected their rug to stay in their home. The results showed that 46.15% of consumers expect to keep their rug for 5 years or longer. With these statistics coupled together, you can bet that consumers are hyper aware of the quality and durability built into their purchases. Read on to find some of the best-selling and performing rugs in the industry. They’ll be sure to satisfy your customers.
January 17,
2020 by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry
Based on Consumer research conducted by FurnitureCore, Inc., the research arm of Home Furnishings Business, consumers were asked ‘how long did you shop before making a matt ress purchase.’ The study found that only 36.36% of consumers made a matt ress purchase in less than a week, while 54.54% of consumers made their purchase in under a month. 9.09% of consumers pondered their options before their purchase for up to 3 months! Clearly, this purchase decision came with a lot of thought. Bearing in mind that there are endless options in the category, from manufacturers promoting organic product to hybrid solutions and beyond, there is a lot to consider.
Manufacturers are aware of the time consumers spend assessing their matt ress purchases and are actively working toward solutions for quality rest at varying price points. Says Jon Stowe, managing director at E.S. Kluft & Company, “Consumer awareness of the role sleep plays in well-being continues to grow and with that, so does interest in high-end bedding. We see consumer interest in quality craftsmanship, innovation and exceptional materials continuing to grow in 2020. That’s good news for consumers and also for retailers who have the opportunity to boost their profi t margins if they have more luxury product on their floors.”
While off ering luxury items is appealing to some consumers, Onney Crawley, Serta’s vice president of marketing, advises against alienating other consumers by instead off ering a wide range of options to the sales fl oor. She says, “The matt ress category is a rapidly evolving and competitive space, with both traditional manufacturers and direct-to-consumer brands competing to understand consumer’s needs. It’s important now more than ever that matt ress retailers adopt a consumer-centric business model in order to deliver innovative products that appeal to a broad range of people.” This mattress merchandising strategy is sure to bring customers to the sales floor to test the product variations; however, retailers will use varying strategies based on their targeted markets.
In a time in the industry where traffic counts are not what they used to be, boosting profit margins at every available opportunity should be seized. For this reason, Eric Holmstead, national sales manager at Malouf, believes, “The mattress category is the most important in the industry. It gets the highest average ticket price, creates the most noticeable improvement in your customer’s sleep, and allows for high margins. A real opportunity comes from attaching product like adjustable bases and accessories to the purchase.” Higher average tickets will make up for fewer customers shopping in stores.
In this highly competitive category, manufacturers are working hard to create solutions for consumers of every body type, preference, and price point. Read on to see the creative solutions sure to satisfy your customer’s need to stop counting sheep and drift off to sleep.
December 13,
2019 by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry
The concept of the home office has evolved alongside technology at an increasing rate. Advancements in technology have been added to desks themselves with the popularity of adjustable height desks on the rise. Alongside this, multiport charging stations and lighting can also be found in many of today’s desk solutions. To get to the heart of the conversation, we need to know what today’s consumer wants and needs are for their next home office purchases. After all, their need for these pieces may be just around the corner. According to Remote.co, a resource for businesses exploring the possibility of remote work, 73% of the workforce will be remote workers by 2028 as Millennials and Gen-Z flood the market.
Manufactures aware of this shift have weighed in with their foresight. “The concept of a home office continues to evolve as technology gets more minimalistic, says Stefanie Lucas, Bassett Furniture’s chief merchandising officer. “We find the key to consumers is the ability to be flexible for whatever room you may need. Building your own idea of a home office, rather than to be locked into a heavy, masculine look, is what we believe to be trending today.”
With open floor plans and more work from home, consumers are integrating their spaces for multi-use. Consumer research conducted by FurnitureCore, Inc., the research arm of Home Furnishings Business, showed that of consumers who recently purchased home office furniture, 69.77% define their home office space by the activity performed there while only 30.23% define it by the type of furniture in the room. The same research found that 46.51% of consumers define the primary use of the home office as an area to work when not in a regular office, followed by 39.53% as an area for home and family business, and 13.95% as a space for home-based business.
Lisa Cody, vice president of marketing at Twin Star Home, echoes these findings saying, “Thanks to the fact that more and more companies have embraced the concept of employees working remotely and the impact that is having on products and services that cater to consumers who work from their kitchen or family room, the future of the home office category is very bright.” Looking back on the FurnitureCore industry model, of consumers polled on their home office location, 60.47% reported the home office being in a dedicated space with 39.53% reporting it to be in shared space. We can expect this number to continue to shift along with open floor plans, more minimalistic technology, and increased remote workers.
When working from home, the entertainment area is close at hand if not already in the same room. Just as with home offices, technology shapes this category at accelerated rates. And it’s not just technology, but how the consumer accesses their entertainment today — think streaming services like Netflix or Hulu. Just as we faded away from VHS into DVDs in the early 2000s, we are fading away from DVDs into these services and similar offerings (Disney has recently released its own much anticipated streaming service, Disney+). These services have offered flexibility to consumers. As Tonja Morrison, director of marketing at Hancock & Moore pointed out, “With so many streaming services online, families can go to the movies whenever they like – in their home theater.”
Based on the same FurnitureCore industry model exploring consumer purchases in the home entertainment category, we find that 91.76% of consumers have their entertainment center in their living room or family room! Families certainly have a designated, central location to enjoy their favorite movies and shows together. Other locations included the bedroom at 8.25% and ‘other’ was indicated by 3.09%
Central to the entertainment center is of course the television. How the consumer wishes to display their television impacts the type of entertainment center they will purchase. Largely, consumers wish to place their TV on top of a console with media storage (53.61%) followed by wall mounted TVs (36.08%). As consumers make the switch to consolidated, minimalistic technology, we can expect wall mounted options to rise. Just as important is size of screen. 47.42% of consumers reported that their next TV purchase within a year would be a screen 55” or larger! 25.77% will purchase a screen 37”-52”, and 6.18% will purchase a screen 36” or smaller. The remaining 20.62% do not plan a purchase over the course of a year. Obviously these consumers will be looking at sizable display units to match. Read on to discover popular entertainment center displays and home office solutions that are sure to move off of your retail sales floor.
