Furniture Today's Furniture Store Performance Report, 2012

Dana French -- Furniture Today, October 13, 2012

One-third of consumers shopping a furniture store last year bought something. Furniture stores are open for business a median of 64 hours a week. A furniture store averages 28,000-square-feet of selling space and its sales per square feet of selling space is $180.

Those are some of the key stats reported by furniture stores in Furniture/Today's 2012 Furniture Store Performance Report. Companies representing more than 9,400 storefronts participated in this year's survey. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, furniture stores sold $48 billion worth of merchandise last year.

This exclusive report provides an overview of furniture store operations and gives standards for retailers to compare profitability, merchandise mix, price-point structures, sourcing and advertising practices. Using these industry norms, retailers can uncover any weaknesses in their operations and build on strengths to improve their bottom line.

Specific data includes: statistics for gross margin, overall stock turns, close ratios, average square feet of selling space and sales per square foot of selling space; details on a furniture store's advertising budget; market share by product for sales; market share by product for selling space; median number of lines carried by product; best-selling price points by product; online stats including the percentage of stores with a web site, the percentage that accept orders online, the percentage that use social media and the percentage that offer free Wi-Fi; direct sourcing figures; in-store gallery figures; and the average number of returned goods.

Furniture/Today's exclusive Furniture Store Performance Report looks at store operations within the furniture store channel. Companies representing more than 9,400 storefronts participated in the 2012 survey. Data reflects the fiscal year ending closest to December 31, 2011.

Responding retailers represent an assortment of furniture store types, including full-line furniture stores, product and style specialty stores and manufacturer-branded stores. All regions of the country are represented. One-fourth of the stores carry low price points; 65% carry lower middle prices; 85% carry upper middle prices; and 34% carry high-end lines.

For the entire report, see the 13 Oct. 2012 print issue of Furniture Today, or click here for the exclusive online edition.