Comscore Reports Record Online Spending on Home Furnishings and Remodeling

December 10, 2020  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry   

The rise in online shopping activity suggests retailers can capitalize on consumers' continuing interest in upgrading their homes by retailers maximizing their e-commerce efforts during the final month of 2020, which typically sees the highest spend each year.

Key findings of the research, which used attitudinal and behavioral insights from Comscore Plan Metrix Multi-Platform, and digital information from Comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform, include:

• In August 2020, 74.2 million consumers had completed a home remodel job in the past year, an increase by nearly 20% compared to the same period last year. Tens of millions of Americans say they are very likely to purchase a new home in the next six months, indicating this trend will continue. 
• Site visitation to the retail home furnishings category saw record high visitation numbers in 2020: in May of this year, visitation peaked at 133 million U.S. unique visitors, up 26% from February 2020. When compared to 2018 and 2019 numbers, the retail home furnishings category has maintained a higher level of visitation for all months following the May 2020 peak. 
• The pandemic has accelerated online spend in this category significantly: Comscore e-Commerce and m-Commerce Measurement research indicates that online spending in the furniture, appliances and equipment category totaled $12.1B in Q2 2020, up nearly 50% vs. Q1 2020, making it the highest quarterly spend ever. While seeing a slight decline post-peak, Q3 2020 spending remained significantly above the pre-COVID average. 
• Of the 108 million consumers who purchased a home goods product online from March through August 2020, 75% agreed that they conducted research online before making a major purchase.