Most Redecorating Projects Take 2-3 Months
Most consumers take their time shopping for furniture
When it comes to redecorating an entire room, most homeowners take their time to get it right. Nearly two-thirds of homeowners will spend at least 2 months to redecorate a living room or master bedroom. Nearly a quarter of homeowners will spend 6 months or more to redecorate a living room, while a fifth will spend 6 months or more to redecorate a master bedroom. What this means is that consumers are taking their time to research available options when they are purchasing new furniture.
Of course this still leaves a little over a third of all shoppers making a quick decision. A quarter of consumers will spend 3-4 weeks shopping for furniture. Another 10% will spend 1-2 weeks shopping. But only 3% of consumers are impulse shoppers and will purchase furniture in less than one week.
Brick and mortar is still the first place to shop
Despite the growing influence of eCommerce, brick and mortar shops are still the most popular place to look for new furniture. Four in five consumers will do some in-store shopping when picking out new furniture for a living room, and that number improves to five in six when shopping for a new master bedroom set.
However, just because consumers are still going to furniture stores, it doesn't mean that they still aren't doing research online as well. Three quarters of consumers will visit retailer websites, two-thirds will do Goggle searches, while over half will use Pintrest and visit blogs. The other major online source for furniture shopping is reading reviews which is something nearly half of consumers will do.
You may be surprised to find out that nearly 40% of consumers will still do their research by reading magazine or newspaper articles, but only 15% of consumers will pay attention to ads in these sources. This is still better than online ads which only appeal to 10% of consumers. Of course word of mouth is another way that people shop for furniture, over a third of consumers will get recommendations from their family and friends. Instagram is another option that is used by approximately 15% of consumers.
Then there are the less popular forms of media. Only 8% of consumers watch product videos. Less than 5% of consumers will use Facebook while shopping for furniture. Twitter appeals to less than 1% of all consumers. Of course the most shocking numbers come from television commercials, only 2-3% of consumers are influenced by what they see on TV.
How much are consumers willing to spend on new furniture?
When it is all said and done, the average consumer will spend $2200 on new living room furniture and $1375 on a new master bedroom set. Generation Xers tend to spend the most money of any generation, spending $3500 on a living room and $2000 on a master bedroom. Baby Boomers come next, on average they will spend $3000 on a living room and $2000 on a master bedroom. Millennials will only spend $2000 on a living room and $1250 on a master bedroom.
Of course more important than the age of the consumer is their income level. For families making less than $50,000 a year, the average spent on a new living room is $1400 and it is $1000 for a master bedroom. Those making between $50,000 and $100,000 a year will spend $2500 on a living room and $2000 on a master bedroom. For those with income levels above $100,000, on average they will spend $4000 for new living room furniture, but still only $2000 for a new master bedroom.
All of these prices are strictly for furniture only and do not take into account the cost of accessories, rugs, lighting, wall decor or bedding.
What does this mean for the furniture industry?
Clearly purchasing new furniture is not a decision that consumers take lightly, after all, it will cost at least $1000, if not much more, just to furnish a single room. As a result, furniture manufacturers need to make sure that their product is visible and unfortunately advertising is not a very good way of doing it. The most important thing you can do as a furniture manufacturer is make sure that your furniture is on display in a large number of showrooms as well as readily available from a large number of online retailers. Other options include posting images of room ideas featuring your furniture on Pintrest and getting designers, writers, and bloggers to showcase your furniture in articles both in print and online.
Of course doing all of this can take a lot of time, and if you are spending most if your time performing credit checks and making collection cards it can be very hard to get this important work done that can lead to higher sales volumes. Why not give DSA Factors a call today at 773-248-9000 and outsource your accounts receivable to seasoned professionals so that you have more time to make your product visible. As an added benefit, with accounts receivable factoring you also get improved cash flow and insurance on your receivables. With over 60 years in the furniture industry and over 30 years providing accounts receivable factoring, DSA Factors has the experience and knowledge you need to help grow your business.
