Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Survey Finds Furniture Retailers Optimistic about 2018 Sales
October 27,
2017 by Larry Thomas in Business Strategy, Economic News, Industry
Furniture retailers are a fairly optimistic group, with 58% of them expecting an increase in furniture sales in 2018, according to a recent poll taken by financial services firm TD Bank.
The poll, taken during this month’s High Point Market, also found that 40% of respondents are expecting sales to remain steady next year, and only 1% are expecting a decline in furniture sales.
In addition, roughly two-third of respondents (65%) said they plan to incorporate new technologies or strategies next year. Of that group, 33.3% said they would be implementing a new or updated website, while 21.5% said they will be utilizing virtual showrooms.
And some 13.3% said they would be adding augmented reality capabilities, and the same number said they would be improving point-of-sales systems for inventory.
In addition, 6.7% said they would be incorporating 3D printing.
And with all the focus on technology, it should come as no surprise that 35.3% of the respondents said a technology disruption posed the greatest threat to the furniture industry next year – easily outdistancing other potential threats.
Inventory restraints were the second-most cited threat (25.6% of respondents), and decrease in consumer demand came in third at 17.9%
Rising employee wages was the top threat in the eyes of 7% of respondents, while rising interest rates were cited by 6.4% and regulation was cited by 4.5%.
TD Bank conducted the survey on Monday, Oct. 16 and Tuesday, Oct. 17.