by Survey identifies which consumers are looking to trade up to more expensive products and what types of furniture they are looking to purchase
HIGH POINT — In our fifth and final installment in this season’s Consumer Insights Now, our research expert Dana French delved into new territory by polling consumers seeking higher-end furniture.
It’s a new angle in our in-depth research project, sponsored by American First Finance, that’s to be published this coming Monday.
The survey begins by identifying the consumer for upper-end luxury furniture and what their budgets and spending plans are in the next several months. For example, it notes that high-end shoppers are generally middle-aged and older including millennials, Generation X and baby boomers and have higher incomes ($100,000 or more). The survey also notes that these consumers tend to be recession-proof as at least half of those surveyed plan to buy more this year than in a typical year.
That’s a message we have heard from upper-end furniture resources and retailers for some time even as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers suffered one of the worst slumps in memory that only ended last fall after about a year and a half of back-to-back decreases.
But higher-end resources say the upper-end shopper is more immune to soft economic conditions as they are relying on a robust stock portfolio and other investments.
For retailers and designers alike, the survey also offers a window into how much these consumers are looking to spend by specific category. For example, 14% of those surveyed said they plan to spend more than $1,500 on a fabric sofa, while another 37% said they plan to spend between $800 and $1,499. This compares with 25% who said they plan to spend more than $2,000 for a leather sofa and 33% saying between $1,400 and $1,999.
For the primary bedroom category, 11% said they plan to spend $3,500 or more for a bed, dresser, mirror and chest compared with 55% saying they plan to spend between $1,000 and $3,499.
In the formal dining category, 9% of those surveyed said they plan to spend $3,000 or more for a table and four chairs, while 30% said between $1,500 and $2,999. For those preferring casual dining, a segment favored by 67% of shoppers surveyed, 38% surveyed said they plan to spend from $1,000 to $1,999 for a table and four chairs compared with 8% who said $2,000 or more.
Other key takeaways in the report are as follows:
+ 56% surveyed said they plan to spend more this year on leather upholstery compared with 51% who said fabric upholstery.
+ This compares with 63% of primary bedroom shoppers and formal dining shoppers respectively and 47% of casual dining shoppers.
+ Also, 7% of those surveyed said they plan to use an interior designer this year, and 8% said they might use a designer.
The data also breaks down the shoppers in each category by different age groups and also identifies purchase triggers that have consumers interested in different categories. Many of those surveyed, including those who want to use a designer, also identified themselves as new homeowners, which is an obvious furniture spending trigger across age groups and income levels.
Of course, the high-end consumer is not immune to financial challenges, including those we have seen of late in the stock market and the government’s plans to impose tariffs on every country. But as the market begins to stabilize and the tariff plan becomes more clear, we believe this consumer will be as resilient as ever, continuing to contribute to the furniture economy in a meaningful and sustained manner now and in the future.
As always, we hope this data proves useful as your store or business continues to hone marketing plans, promotions and the overall selection you’re offering your target consumer. And as always, we are open to further suggestions and ideas on what questions to ask consumers as we plan for our next research project. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section, or email Home News Now Editor-in-Chief Tom Russell at tom@homenewsnow.com.
Below is our publication schedule for this season’s Consumer Insights Now, with links to each survey published thus far.
March 24 – Survey of new homeowners.
+ March 31 – Sofa shopping trends.
+ April 7 – Case goods shopping trends — primary bedroom and dining furniture.
+ April 14 – Mattresses for primary bedroom.
+ April 21 – High-end furniture shoppers and design report.
