The furniture industry is a true constant in the sense that its offerings remain in demand throughout a variety of economic situations. While conditions in the economy may certainly impact furniture sales and the types of furniture being purchased, most often, at the end of the day, people need furniture. The past few years have been interesting for the furniture industry, to say the least, with a big shift to work-from-home for many, supply chain disruptions, and recently, an inflationary economy and growing economic concerns as the prices of groceries and fuel rise exponentially for consumers.
Looking ahead, there are plenty of trends we could dive into that will help shape the furniture industry. Here are a few key ones that are likely to have broad impacts.
An Emphasis On Affordability
It's easy to see across a huge range of industries: Consumers are looking for affordable options. With the price of gas and grocery staples on the rise or remaining high and wages relatively stagnant in many sectors, consumers are looking for affordable furniture options now more than ever.
You have a lot of renters today, and that creates a dual demand for furniture on the part of both landlords pre-furbishing rentals and renters looking to purchase their own furniture for unfurnished spaces. In either case, affordability is appreciated.
It's a good idea to maintain variety and options across the full price range in your inventory, but leaning your offerings more heavily towards the affordable could make sense for your retail furniture business in the current economy.
The Continued Demand for Home Office Furniture
For many workers who began working from home in early 2020, there was a mad dash to establish a functional work-from-home space. In a lot of cases, workers just grabbed whatever furniture they could get their hands on or even used existing furniture originally intended for other rooms in their home to fill in temporarily. And many of those same workers are just now upgrading their setup as work-from-home opportunities become permanent.
The home office furniture market is going to stay hot, because work-from-home is here to stay for many industries. Companies that have discovered the enormous financial benefits of not having to maintain large office spaces are not going back, and workers who enjoy the time savings and convenience of working from home are unlikely to want to return to the daily office commute. Office chairs, desks, bookshelves, storage solutions, and standing desks are just a few examples of the types of home office items likely to remain in demand for years to come.
A Strong Desire for Consumer Finance Options
Another key trend for furniture retailers to think about right now is consumer demand for financing options when shopping for furniture. The aforementioned economic pressures have driven a desire for flexibility, and offering consumer financing provides your customers with just that. A customer who is on the fence about purchasing a piece of furniture may be convinced to close the deal by the availability of financing options.
The key here is to ensure that the financing process itself is easy and convenient for the customer. The benefits of financing are easily forgotten when the customer has to stand around waiting for your team to perform duplicate data entry when submitting their application to multiple lenders. Use FormPiper, a convenient consumer financing automation solution, to ensure the process runs smoothly and keep your customer locked in and engaged.
As economic uncertainty continues, financing will continue to be a big revenue booster for furniture stores, so nailing down the details of your consumer finance process and making it flow as smoothly as possible is essential. Your customers will appreciate it, and you'll find that it will make a big difference for your business.
