Sofa-sleepers & futons
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 24, 2003
This year, about 1.3 million American households are shopping for a futon, and 2.4 million are in the market for a sofa-sleeper. If consumers follow through with their shopping plans, spending on these two products will total more than $3 billion.
Futons and sofa-sleepers are popular with households that have limited space and need furniture that does double-duty.
They are particularly popular with those living in apartments, who account for 18% of households planning to buy a futon and 14% of those planning to buy a sofa-sleeper.
Futon budgets for apartment dwellers are on a par with their house-dwelling counterparts — a median of $200. However, apartment dwellers planning to purchase a sofa-sleeper have lower budgets than those living in a house, a median of $450 compared to a median budget of $600 for house dwellers.
Generally speaking, futon buyers are younger and have smaller budgets for their purchase — a median of $200 nationally compared with the median of $600 that sofa-sleeper buyers expect to spend.
Both items are appealing to African-American households. They are 2.3 times more likely than we might expect to buy a sofa-sleeper and 1.4 times as likely to buy a futon. Their planned budget for a futon is $200; for a sofa-sleeper, $500.
Other groups with high plan-to-buy indices for futons include Asian Americans and Native Americans. Both are twice as likely to be shopping for a futon than their numbers in the population would suggest. Hispanic households also have a high plan-to-buy index for futons.
| Percent of households that... | |
|---|---|
| Shopped for a sofa-sleeper in 2002 | 3.0% |
| Shopped for a futon in 2002 | 2.7% |
| Bought a sofa-sleeper in 2002 | 1.3% |
| Bought a futon in 2002 | 1.6% |
| Plan to buy a sofa-sleeper in 2003 | 2.2% |
| Plan to buy a futon in 2003 | 1.2% |
| Age | % of the 2.2% of households in 2003 that plan to buy a sofa-sleeper | % of the 1.2% of households in 2003 that plan to buy a futon |
| Under 25 | 3% | 4% |
| 25–34 | 15% | 20% |
| 35–44 | 25% | 26% |
| 45–54 | 25% | 28% |
| 55–64 | 16% | 15% |
| 65 and over | 16% | 7% |
| They plan to spend | % of the 2.2% of households that in 2003 plan to buy a sofa-sleeper | % of the 1.2% of households that in 2003 plan to buy a futon | |
| Under $200 | 6% | Under $100 | 5% |
| $200–$299 | 6% | $100–$149 | 18% |
| $300–$499 | 18% | $150–$199 | 14% |
| $500–$599 | 17% | $200–$299 | 29% |
| $600–$799 | 16% | $300–$399 | 19% |
| $800–$999 | 15% | $400–$599 | 11% |
| $1,000–$1,499 | 15% | $600 or more | 4% |
| $1,500 or more | 7% |
| Lifestage | % of the 2.2% of households that in 2003 plan to buy a sofa-sleeper | % of the 1.2% of households that in 2003 plan to buy a futon |
| Young singles | 4% | 6% |
| Middle singles | 15% | 13% |
| Older singles | 7% | 3% |
| Young couples | 6% | 10% |
| Working older couples | 13% | 12% |
| Retired older couples | 9% | 6% |
| Young parents | 15% | 14% |
| Middle parents | 12% | 13% |
| Older parents | 18% | 20% |
| Roommates | 1% | 3% |
| Income | % of the 2.2% of households that in 2003 plan to buy sofa-sleeper | % of the 1.2% of households that in 2003 plan to buy a futon |
| Under $20,000 | 24% | 25% |
| $20,000 – $29,999 | 11% | 11% |
| $30,000 – $39,999 | 11% | 13% |
| $40,000 – $49,999 | 9% | 10% |
| $50,000 – $59,999 | 8% | 7% |
| $60,000 – $74,999 | 10% | 10% |
| $75,000 – $84,999 | 5% | 4% |
| $85,000 – $99,999 | 9% | 9% |
| $100,000 – $124,999 | 7% | 7% |
| $125,000 or more | 6% | 4% |
