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The consumer is back in stores

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, January 2, 2012

Editor’s desk With 2011 behind us and with a brand new year rolled out before us, I hope you're ready to roll out some captivating new initiatives in 2012.
     My best guess is that market conditions won't change dramatically this year, so we had better be ready with some fresh ideas.
     We appear to be coming off a decent fourth quarter and I can report that in my neck of the woods the shoppers were out in force and spending money, especially on things that had a cord attached. On the few times that my son who works at an Apple store came up for air this holiday season, he was sporting a nice pair of dark circles under his eyes.
     I had the opportunity to drive by his store numerous times during the past two months and on every visit, the store was slammed. The parking lots at Best Buy and hhgregg also were packed.
     By comparison, a well known apparel store a few doors down from the Apple store looked like a ghost town.
     I think the one-two punch of hot products and heavy promotion helped consumer electronics retailers take dollars from lots of other types of retailers, including furniture retailers.
     Personally, as I attempted to shop for a 37-inch HDTV for my Apple kid, I was shocked as I went from one big box to the next only to hear the same four words: "Sorry, out of stock." I was finally able to pull the trigger online, so the story had a happy ending.
     Right after the holiday, I read a report from NPD that confirmed my suspicions about healthy consumer electronics sales. It said DVD sales were up this holiday season by 53%, digital camera sales were up 40%, surround-sound audio receivers with speakers were up 173% and handheld computers were up 30%.
     Compare those gains to the category activity listed in our recent Retail Planning Guide: For example, motion upholstery was up 1.9% in 2011 compared with 2010, juvenile furniture was up 2%, casual dining was up 2.6% and stationary upholstery was up 1.8%.
     Clearly, the consumer seems to be back in the stores. Now, our opportunity this year is to find new ways to attract a bigger share of her attention - and disposable income.
     Here's wishing you a successful 2012!

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