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From Home Furnishing Business
FastFact: Distribution Channels for Furniture Shift
May 26,
2015 by in Economic News, Industry 
Furniture retailers are the epicenter of sales of furniture to consumers, with more than 66 percent of industrywide distribution coming through the store front.
This channel includes traditional stores, specialty retailers, mattress stores and an assortment of other retail outlets where furniture is the primary sales driver.
E-tailers, or online stores, are another distribution channel. This sector has jumped 627.2 percent over the past 12 years. It saw the most growth in the first five years, with a 201.3 percent increase.
A third channel is general merchandise stores, warehouse clubs and supercenters. General merchandise stores grew 27.3 percent between 2002 and 2007, and saw another significant increase of 47.5 percent from 2007 to 2014. Total overall growth in the general merchandise stores clocked in at 87.8 percent. Warehouse club supercenters, like Sam’s Club and Costco, had an overall jump of 24.3 percent over 12 years.
The past 12-year span between 2002 and 2014 delivered a downward spiral for the remaining distribution channels. However, discount department stores show a growth of 8.8 percent in the seven years between 2007 and 2014.
The complete FastFact is available online.