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Time to consider a consignment area?

Ray Allegrezza, Editor in Chief -- Furniture Today, November 16, 2009

With consumer spending representing 71% of U.S. economic activity, it clearly is the engine that drives our country's economic well being.

But as we also know, recessions, which often include higher-than-normal levels of unemployment and lower-than-normal levels of consumer confidence, affect how much consumers spend and where they spend their disposable income.

We've all had the chance to witness these shifts since the recession was officially declared in December of 2007. Since that time, we've seen unemployment steadily rise from under 5% to its current level of 10.2%.

During the same period, unemployment increased by more than 8 million. Today, some 16 million people can't find work.

Let's face it. Unemployed people typically don't make lots of high-ticket purchases. But that's just part of the challenge. Even those still working are rethinking how and where they shop.

For example, just for the heck of it, go to Google News and type in “furniture consignment stores.” You'll find item after item about how well this channel is performing, especially in this soft economy.

For lots of shoppers, consignment shopping has become the next hot thing.

And I'm not just basing that statement on hundreds of stories on Google.

Recently, Furniture/Today and our partner HGTV conducted a survey to get our arms around a topic that everyone is talking about: The impact the recession is having on the consumer's purchasing patterns for home furnishings.

We got back more than 8,500 responses and these very plugged-in consumers made it clear that their purchasing patterns have changed.

We'll reveal the results of this comprehensive study at our upcoming Leadership Conference, so if you want to be the first to hear them, plan on being with us Dec. 2-4 in Naples, Fla.

Here's a teaser: A year ago, 27% of the respondents said they shopped second-hand stores. Today, that number has spiked to 55%.

Here's a thought: Should there be a consignment area in your store's future?

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