The households that got away
Ray Allegrezza, Editor in Chief -- Furniture Today, March 19, 2007
Even if you don't fish, I'll bet you have your version of the-monster-that-got-away story, and man, you had to see it to believe it!
After reading the provocative report in last week's issue written by Senior Research Specialist Dana French, it dawned on me that our industry has a collective fish story. Only in our case, it's an all-too-true tale of 11 million U.S. households that got away.
As Dana points out in her story on page 15 of the Feb. 26 issue, Furniture/Today's most recent Consumer Buying Trends survey, based on responses from 2,500 households, determined that more than 11 million U.S. households shopped our stores last year but left without making a single purchase.
Dana calls that the buying gap. At a time when retailers are looking under rocks for new business, I call that a tragedy.
The survey data, which can be projected nationally with a margin of error of plus or minus 2%, indicate that more than $47 billion was left on the table as a result of that disconnect.
While futons topped the list of missed sales opportunities, the survey cited all the major categories, including motion sofas, curios, dining room furniture, bedroom furniture, recliners and home entertainment.
The good news here is that, once understood, these buying gap statistics may help you convert more of your shoppers into paying customers.
Take a look at some of the top reasons consumers gave for not buying.
High on the list was the fact that the features of the item being considered were not what the consumer wanted. To me, that suggests that our industry needs to have a better understanding of what that consumer does want, before we bring product to market.
Also on that list were issues of style, size and poor quality at various price points. Again, lost sales relating to style and size make me question whether we are doing enough on the front end to understand what it is the consumer is looking for, especially in these areas.
When times get tough, the conversation invariably turns to finding clever new ways to bring new customers into stores. But before we do, maybe we need to fill that store with furniture that doesn't merely meet her needs, but exceeds them.
As always, I am eager to hear from you. Drop me a note at rallegrezza@reedbusiness.com.
