DeFacto Furniture: Consumers Get Jittery on Buying

September 30, 2008  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on October 2008 From October of 2007 until February of 2008, Home Furnishings Business conducted an exclusive survey of consumers on the furnishings industry, covering what products they purchased, where they shopped, their shopping experience and their future shopping plans. Also included was a series of questions about the participants themselves.

In July, the magazine re-surveyed the more than 400 consumers who participated in the original survey to find out if, how and why their home furnishings buying plans have changed in the wake of declining consumer confidence, employment insecurity and general economic worries.

The first surprise was that nearly three-quarters (71 percent) didn’t know whether or not they would be buying home furnishings in the second half of this year. Just 12 percent definitely ruled out purchasing any home furnishings, with the balance making plans to do so or had already bought something.

Of those who had already bought home furnishings, about one-quarter had purchased home accents, with other popular categories including bedroom furniture, entertainment furniture and home textiles. Women were more likely than men to have purchased entertainment furniture for an already-owned flat-screen television, primarily because the woman of the household didn’t want a “big black hole in the living room,” according to one Midwesterner.

High on shoppers’ wish lists was furniture of almost any kind, with entertainment furniture and baby furniture topping the lists, followed closely by bedroom furniture. According to the consumers surveyed, most considered bedding to be bedroom furniture and didn’t differentiate between case goods and upholstery furniture for the bedroom versus bedding. One Westerner said he always bought new bedding when he bought new bedroom furniture and seemed somewhat surprised at the thought he could buy new bedding without new furniture!

Several consumers planned to make gift purchases, including a number of new grandparents-to-be who were furnishing nurseries. Unlike the purchases they made a generation ago for their own home, many of which were hand-me-downs or bought at garage sales, these new grandparents are making a grand occasion of the new addition to the family.

Survey respondents seemed somewhat unrealistic about furnishings prices, as those who had actually purchased spent more than those still shopping expected to pay. One-fifth of those planning on shopping didn’t know what to expect in the way of price points. One northeastern woman was pretty definite, though, saying, “It will cost what it costs. I need it, I want it, and I can probably afford it. Now I just need to find it!”

Those consumers who had ruled out shopping for home furnishings based their decision on a number of factors, including gas prices that were still too high, high food prices, job insecurity and a general jittery feel about the economy. “I can always shop next year, if I don’t buy this year,” said one southerner. “I just don’t feel right about spending a lot of money right now. I think I’ll hold off buying anything until things start turning around in the economy.”

Another Southerner was part of the group who flatly said he couldn’t afford it: “I’ve always bought furniture on credit before and now it’s really hard to get credit. I didn’t lose my house because of the mortgage crash, but now I can’t buy anything else.”

Not all of the survey respondents definitely shut the door on buying home furnishings. More than one-third (36 percent) said they would buy “if something caught their eye” and 18 percent said a good sale would get them into a store. Only 3 percent said they would hold until gas prices really fell, while 20 percent planned to wait until they felt their job was secure.

The overall attitude of consumers, as expressed via the survey, was that now was a good time to take a “wait-and-see position” about the economy and future buying plans. One New Yorker said, “I like to window shop. If I see that perfect product, I’m buying. But it’s just fine with me if I don’t see it. Yes, I can think of a lot of things I’d like to buy for my house, but now may not be the time.”

One Southerner was rocked by the bankruptcy filing of a favorite furniture store: “Five years ago I looked long and hard to find the perfect dining room table and chairs. I had sort of given up when I found something that was perfect. I bought it immediately and I still love it.

“I’d buy from that store again in a heartbeat; in fact I tried a couple of years ago. But my salesperson didn’t call me back when I called to make an appointment, so I sort of let it slide. The next thing I heard, they were out of business. Now I don’t know where to shop, so I guess I’ll be looking at ads the next time I decide to go shopping.”

There are shoppers out there willing to spend money, but finding them is always the challenge. The good news is that a slippery economy hasn’t scared them all off. HFB

Home Furnishings Business’ consumer survey was conducted by Research Editor Janice Chamberlain under the direction of Editor in Chief Sheila Long O’Mara.