Desks and other home office
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 24, 2003
Desks, which have been at the top of the furniture buying charts for the past several years, have slipped a bit. But a healthy 3.7% of households still have desks on their shopping lists, and other home office furniture — anything from chairs to filing cabinets — is on the list of 3.2% of households. About 1% of households plan to buy both a desk and other home office furniture this year. Planned spending on the two categories hovers at the $4 billion mark.
Not surprisingly, households with a home business are prime shoppers for both desks and other home office furniture, making up 18% of the households planning to make a purchase this year. If they buy as planned, they will account for 13% of the dollars spent on the two categories. Their budgets, however, are about the same as other households for desks, slightly higher for other home office furniture.
Asian-Americans and African-Americans are planning to buy both desks and other home office at rates that exceed their presence in the population. With desks, however, both Asians and African-Americans have budgeted smaller amounts than the national median of $200 — a median of $150 and $120, respectively. Asians plan to spend a median of $300 on other home office, well above the national median of $180, while African-Americans have budgeted $150 for other home office purchases.
Other demographic groups with high plan-to-buy indices include young singles, young couples, young parents, middle parents and those who have never been married.
| Percent of households that... | |
|---|---|
| Shopped for a desk in 2002 | 7.6% |
| Shopped for other home office furniture in 2002 | 6.2% |
| Bought a desk in 2002 | 4.7% |
| Bought other home office furniture in 2002 | 3.9% |
| Plan to buy a desk in 2003 | 3.7% |
| Plan to buy other home office furniture in 2003 | 3.2% |
| Age | % of the 3.7% of households that in 2003 plan to buy a desk | % of the 3.2% of households that in 2003 plan to buy other home office |
| Under 25 | 6% | 4% |
| 25–34 | 23% | 18% |
| 35–44 | 28% | 27% |
| 45–54 | 23% | 27% |
| 55–64 | 12% | 15% |
| 65 and over | 8% | 9% |
| Lifestage | % of the 3.7% of households that in 2003 plan to buy a desk | % of the 3.2% of households that in 2003 plan to buy other home office |
| Young singles | 5% | 5% |
| Middle singles | 12% | 15% |
| Older singles | 2% | 3% |
| Young couples | 11% | 11% |
| Working older couples | 10% | 13% |
| Retired older couples | 5% | 7% |
| Young parents | 20% | 15% |
| Middle parents | 14% | 11% |
| Older parents | 18% | 18% |
| Roommates | 3% | 2% |
| Income | % of the 3.7% of households that in 2003 plan to buy a desk | % of the 3.2% of households that in 2003 plan to buy other home office |
| Under $20,000 | 18% | 14% |
| $20,000–$29,999 | 10% | 10% |
| $30,000–$39,999 | 10% | 11% |
| $40,000–$49,999 | 9% | 10% |
| $50,000–$59,999 | 10% | 8% |
| $60,000–$74,999 | 12% | 13% |
| $75,000–$84,999 | 6% | 6% |
| $85,000–$99,999 | 10% | 10% |
| $100,000–$124,999 | 7% | 8% |
| $125,000–or more | 8% | 10% |
