Furniture Today's Case Goods Style Survey 2012

Contemporary continues to dominate

Dana French -- Furniture Today, September 17, 2012

Contemporary continues to dominate the case goods marketplace accounting for 32% of all unit sales last year, combining master bedroom, youth bedroom, formal dining and casual dining at all price points. That's according to retailers answering Furniture Today's exclusive Case Goods Style Survey.

Casual styles, also referred to as lifestyle or transitional styles, now own an impressive 30% unit market share. Since 2010, the last time Furniture/Today conducted the survey, casual styles have experienced a 14 percentage point increase in terms of units sold, while contemporary has felt an 11 percentage point drop.

Furniture Today's exclusive report provides market share data for percentage of units sold in 2011 for both the styles master bedroom, youth bedroom, formal dining and casual dining. Results are presented by promotional, lower-middle, upper-middle and high price points. The style families represented include Contemporary, Casual, Traditional, Country and Other styles. Additional data on the percentage of units sold with eco-friendly qualities are included.

Furniture Today's exclusive report, the Case Goods Style Survey, reflects the answers of furniture stores operating more than 350 storefronts in the U.S. Their unit sales of case goods were used as the basis for the market share for the styles.

Contacted online during July and August, retailers' based responses on their 2011 unit sales for different styles in master bedroom, youth bedroom, formal dining and casual dining at low, middle, upper-middle and high price points.

To determine market share, responses were weighted to reflect a retailer's unit sales in each product category and at each price point level. For example, the response from a retailer with annual sales of $20 million in master bedroom was given greater weight than sales from a store generating $5 million for that category.

For the complete report, see the 17 Sept. 2012 print issue of Furniture Today, or click here for the exclusive online edition.