furniture today consumer buying trends

consumerbuying trends

A special supplement to Furniture/TodayA special supplement to Furniture/TodayApril 2, 2011April 2, 2011

Presentation sponsored by

An exclusive, nationally-representative survey2,500 consumer households reveal what furniture they bought in 2010 and plan to buy in 2011

Consumer Buying - WMC 1Consumer Buying - WMC 1 3/18/2011 11:08:27 AM3/18/2011 11:08:27 AM

Bedding

10.6% 10.8% 12.8%

11.6% 10.2%

10.8%

Stationarysofas

4.5%

4.6%

7.9%

6.4%

5.6%

7.9%

Recliningchairs

3.9%

3.9%

5.9%

4.4%

3.2%

4.6%

Formaldining

2.3%

2.2% 4.5%

5.1%

3.4% 4.3%

Entertainmentfurniture

4.4%

3.9%

6.9%

7.5%

4.6%

4.0%

Motion sofas 1.8% 1.8% 2.9%

3.3%

3.2%

4.0%

Desks

6.0%

4.7%

NA

6.9%

4.4%

3.9%

Masterbedroom

3.9%

3.9%

5.4%

4.9%

3.7% 3.8%

Youth/otheradult bedroom

4.3% 4.0%

5.0%

4.7%

3.0% 3.7%

Occasionaltables

3.9%

3.7%

6.0%

5.4%

4.2%

3.5%

Casual dining 3.1%

3.0%

6.4%

4.8%

3.8%

2.8%

Curios 2.1%

1.8%

5.6%

3.7%

2.0% 2.4%

Glider rockers 2.0%

2.0%

3.0% 2.6% 1.4% 1.9%

Stationary chairs 1.7% 1.3% 2.1% 1.7% 1.2% 1.8% Source: Furniture/Today Consumer Buying Trends Surveys, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2011

By Dana French

More than 33 million U.S. house-holds bought furniture and bed-ding products in 2010, spending a combined $83.5 billion. In 2011, 34% of U.S. households — 38 mil-lion — plan to buy furniture and bedding. That’s one of the find-ings from Furniture/Today’s 2011 Consumer Buying Trends Survey. The exclusive data provides na-tionally-representative purchase incidence figures for 14 products, as well as demographic character-istics of households who bought and plan to buy each category.

Bedding is No. 1 productBedding was bought the most

in 2010, purchased by 10.2% of all U.S. households. The 11.5 mil-lion buying households spent a combined $11.6 billion at retail. In 2011, 10.8% of U.S. households — 12.2 million — plan to buy a mattress and boxspring.

Last year, 95% of buyers pur-chased just one mattress. Queen was the most frequently-bought size, by 42% of households. Full-size mattresses accounted for another 26% of all mattresses bought, while twin comprised 21% and king-size made up 18% of all mattresses bought last year.

Nearly two-fifths of households buying a queen-size set spent less than $500 on their purchase last year, while 43% spent between $500 and $999 and 19% spent $1,000 or more. Overall, buyers spent a me-dian of $599 on a queen set.

Buying for public spacesIn addition to bedding, con-

sumers spent money on product for public spaces in the home, such as the family room or den. Topping the list were stationary sofas, bought by 5.6% of all U.S. households in 2010, or 5.2 mil-lion. It’s also on the plan-to-buy list of another 7.9% of households this year.

Last year, 77% of all station-ary sofa purchases were fabric, while 23% were leather. Buy-ing households spent a median of $624 on a fabric sofa and a median of $1,099 on a leather one.

Motion sofas were popular, too. 3.6 million U.S. households bought a motion sofa last year and 4.5 million households plan to buy one this year, making it one of the year’s hottest catego-ries.

Leather was the cover of choice for 31% of motion sofas purchased in 2010, while fab-ric covered 69%. Buying house-holds spent a median of $799 on a fabric-covered motion sofa in 2010 and a median of $899 on a leather one.

Entertainment furniture was the most purchased wood product last year, rounding out the wants and needs for family rooms and dens.

More than five million house-holds bought the entertainment category in 2010, spending a me-dian of $199.

Bedding and sofas bought the most in 2010

About the dataIn this exclusive report, Furniture/Today presents the most detailed information available on recent consumer furniture buying and consumers’ buying plans.

The consumer data originates from the responses of 2,500 U.S. households to an online survey conducted in December 2010. Furniture/Today worked with TNS, a Kantar Group Company, to examine home furnishings shopping and purchasing patterns among households in 2010 and buying plans for 2011.

On a product-by-product basis, U.S. households told Furniture/Today what furniture they shopped for last year, what they actually purchased, how much they spent and what types of furniture they plan to buy in 2011.

Because of the sample size and a respondent profile closely matching the demographics of all U.S. households, survey data can be projected nationally with a margin of error of plus or minus 2%.

The research was analyzed by Furniture/Today’s research department, led by Director of Research Dana French.

Furniture buying practices Plan to% of Bought in buy inhouseholds 2000 2002 2004 2006 2010 2011

2 FURNITURE|TODAY APRIL 2, 2011 www.furnituretoday.com

Consumer Buying Trends


Demographics% of each generation planning to buy furniture and bedding in 2011

Generation Y Generation X Baby BoomersHousehold incomeUnder $30,000 18% 15% 18%$30,000 to $49,999 19% 20% 24%$50,000 to $74,999 24% 21% 19%$75,000 to $99,999 20% 18% 19%$100,000 to $149,999 14% 14% 14%$150,000 or more 5% 12% 6%

Residence typeHouse 65% 69% 79%Apartment 26% 15% 9%Mobile home 1% 4% 5%Condominium 6% 9% 5%Other 2% 3% 2%

Marital statusNow married 59% 69% 63%Never married 30% 16% 12%Divorced, widowed, separated 11% 15% 25%

Race/ethnicityWhite 75% 78% 90%African-American 13% 13% 6%Asian-American 7% 6% 1%Hispanic 12% 6% 2%

Source: Furniture/Today Consumer Buying Trends Survey, 2011

Affluent households account for % of households who bought furniture/bedding in 2010 20%

% of total dollars spent on furniture/bedding in 2010 32%

% of households who plan to buy furniture/bedding in 2011 20%

% of U.S. adult population 20%

Affluent households are defined as those having incomes of $100,000 or more

Source: Furniture/Today Consumer Buying Trends Survey, 2011 and U.S. Census Bureau, 2010

Furniture and bedding buying Generation Y Generation X Baby Boomers accounts for

% of households who boughtin 2010

19% 22% 42%

% of total dollars spentin 2010

19% 20% 41%

% of households who plan to buy in 2011

19% 24% 44%

% of U.S. adult population 33% 19% 32%

Gen Y households are ages 18 to 35 in 2011, born between 1976 and 1993Gen X households are ages 36 to 46 in 2011, born between 1965 and 1975Boomer households are ages 47 to 65 in 2011, born between 1946 and 1964

Source: Furniture/Today Consumer Buying Trends Survey, 2011 and U.S. Census Bureau, 2010

Generational buying trendsThirty-six percent of Generation Y households bought fur-niture and bedding last year. This generation is growing up and is vitally important to the industry. They are 77-million strong and comprise one-third of the U.S. adult population. Their many needs for furniture include new product for homes and children. Members are currently between ages 17 to 35, but data within this survey is for members ages 18 to 35 only. Top products for Gen Y in 2011 include bedding, youth/other adult bedroom and stationary sofas.

One-third of Generation X made furniture or bedding purchases last year. At nearly 46 million, they account for 19% of the U.S. adult population and spent more than $16 billion on furniture and bedding in 2010. Members of Gen X are currently between ages 36 and 46 and while they’re small in numbers, they have the means to buy. More than one-fourth of Gen X members planning to buy furniture in 2011 have incomes of $100,000 or more. Top products for Gen X include bedding, stationary sofas and formal dining.

In 2010, 29% of all Baby Boomers bought furniture and bedding. And even though the oldest members of this generation are turning 65, they still account for 44% of households who plan to buy in 2011. Top products for Boomers in 2011 include motion sofas, casual dining and reclining chairs.

Affluent buyers are keyAffluent buyers, those with household incomes of $100,000 or more, comprised 20% of overall furniture and bedding buyers in 2010. Since affluent buyers spent between 1.5 and 3.0 times more per product than non-affluent buyers, they accounted for nearly one-third of the total dollars spent on furniture and bedding.

A look at median purchase prices for several products shows the group’s willingness to spend more. Affluent buyers spent a median of $799 on a queen mattress in 2010, while non-affluent households spent a median of $549. And for leather motion sofas, affluent buyers spent a median of $1,399, while households earning less than $100,000 a year spent a median of $699.

Nationally, one in five U.S. households — 22.8 million — have incomes of $100,000 or more, according to recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.

6 FURNITURE|TODAY APRIL 2, 2011 www.furnituretoday.com



7.9 million — that’s the number of households who shopped for at least one furniture and bedding product last year and did not make a purchase. In other words, 19% of all furniture and bedding shoppers went away empty handed in 2010, according to Furniture/Today’s latest Consumer Buying Trends survey.

These nearly one in five shoppers form the Buying Gap. And, assuming all Gap households would have

paid, on average, the same amount as buying house-holds, the Buying Gap of untapped sales could have added another $31.1 billion to retail cash registers last year. That’s a significant number, amounting to almost 40% of all 2010 furniture and bedding retail sales.

Unfortunately, the data does not explain why the 19% Gap occurred. Without a doubt the lacklus-ter economy and high unemployment rates were to blame. It’s also possible consumers did not find what they were looking for in product features, color, qual-ity, durability, style and/or size.

And, there may have been shifts in buying plans as shopping progressed. For example, households intend-ing to buy a mattress or sofa with their money decided to purchase a flat-screen TV or iPad instead.

While the data can’t speculate what happened with each shopper, the data does reveal which prod-ucts had the largest gap. That unfortunate honor went to stationary chairs. Of the 2.5 million households who shopped for a stationary chair in 2010, only 55% bought, leaving 45% not buying.

On the flip side, bedding had the best buy-shop ratio. Only 14% of the 13.3 million households who shopped for bedding last year did not buy. Still, mat-tress retailers lost a potential $1.8 million in sales from all non-buying households.

Stationary sofas, with 2010 retail sales of $12.4 bil-lion, lost $7.5 billion in potential dollars to the Buying Gap, the largest projected amount for any category.

Untapped sales of the households that shopped for each product in 2010 Potential % of households % of households lost $’s in that bought that didn’t buy billions

Stationary chairs 55% 45% $1.4

Glider rockers 56% 44% $0.9

Curios 61% 39% $1.0

Stationary sofas 62% 38% $7.5

Desks 63% 37% $2.4

Formal dining 64% 36% $3.1

Reclining chairs 64% 36% $2.1

Entertainment furniture 65% 35% $2.9

Master bedroom 74% 26% $3.0

Motion sofas 74% 26% $1.3

Youth/other adult bedroom 75% 25% $1.6

Casual dining 79% 21% $1.1

Occasional tables 81% 19% $1.0

Bedding 86% 14% $1.8

Total furniture and bedding buying gap $31.1Source: Furniture/Today Consumer Buying Trends Survey, 2011

Respondent profileRegion Northeast 21%Midwest 26%South 32%West 21%

Age Under 35 15%35-44 18%45-54 22%55-64 22%65 and over 23%

Household income Under $30,000 26%$30,000 to $49,999 23%$50,000 to $74,999 21%$75,000 to $99,999 15%$100,000 to $149,999 11%$150,000 or more 4%

Households: all those living together in one hous-ing unit. They may be related family members or unrelated individuals sharing housing as partners.

Median: the measure that divides the response into two equal portions, one above and one below, the median.

Household income: the total combined income of all household members.

The Buying Gap: the percentage of households that shopped for a category in 2010, but did not buy.

Potential lost sales: the calculated dollar amount households that shopped for a category but didn’t buy would have spent if they had purchased. It assumes all Gap households would spend, on average, the same amount spent by households buying the product in 2010.

Terms used in the report

Completereport availableThe complete Consumer Buying Trends report, with results for 19 home furnishings categories, includ-ing the 14 furniture categories presented here, plus outdoor furniture and the home accent categories of area rugs, lamps, mirrors and framed art, is now available online through Furniture/Today’s Research Store. The 83-page report costs $199 and includes detailed demographic information and targeted buy-ing patterns by region, age and income level. Go tohttp://furnituretodaystore.stores.yahoo.net/cbt2011.htmlto purchase.

Total potential sales

$113.6 billion

Total furniture andbedding sales, 2010

$82.5 billion

Potential lost sales due toThe Buying Gap

$31.1 billion

19% of furniture shoppers did not buy last year

www.furnituretoday.com FURNITURE|TODAY APRIL 2, 2011 7



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