HIGH POINT -- $47.5 billion — that’s the amount left in consumers’ wallets last year when they didn’t find what they were looking for as they shopped for furniture.

According to Furniture/Today’s latest Consumer Buying Trends survey, more than 11 million U.S. households shopped for furniture in 2006 and did not make a purchase. Put another way, more than one-fifth of all households that shopped for one or more furniture and bedding products last year went away empty-handed.

That’s significant. The Buying Gap of untapped sales would have added another $47.5 billion to retailer coffers, catapulting the entire furniture and bedding market to $132.1 billion, 56% more than the $84.6 billion spent on furniture and bedding in 2006.

Some caveats apply. The figures assume that all consumers that didn’t buy would have and would have spent, on average, the same amounts as buying households. Because the survey was conducted in November and December, some of the Buying Gap comes from shoppers who just started searching and their purchases have or will be made this year.

Then, too, there may have been some shifts in plans as shopping progressed. Consumers who started shopping for a stationary sofa may have been captivated with the prospect of a motion sofa, or some who thought they wanted a motion sofa may have opted for a stationary one instead. According to the data, 12% of households that shopped for a motion sofa but didn’t buy one bought a stationary sofa.

But, the Gap is far too large for late shopping and shifts to other categories to account for all the unspent dollars. There’s clearly a huge untapped potential waiting to be uncorked.

So, where were the biggest gaps between shopping and buying?

Futons fared the worse. Of the 4.5 million households that shopped for a futon in 2006, only half bought one. That amounts to leaving $1.2 billion in futon sales on the table.

With motion sofas, the Buying Gap was 43%. The 2.7 million Gap households, ones that shopped for a motion sofa last year but did not buy one, had the potential to spend another $2.6 billion on the category.

Curios had the largest gap ratio of case goods categories. In 2006, 42% of all curio shoppers did not buy one.

In terms of untapped dollars, three categories alone have the potential to add nearly $18 billion in sales. Stationary sofas, with 2006 retail sales of $11.9 billion, lost $7.6 billion in potential dollars to the Buying Gap, the largest amount for any single category. Master bedroom, with 3.2 million Gap households, lost a potential $5.4 billion in sales. Bedding, which has one of the highest buy rates at 71%, still left a potential $4.8 billion in consumers’ wallets.

Infant cribs had the best buy-shop ratio. Only 17% of the 3.7 million crib shoppers did not buy one.

Buying Gap figures present the industry with both a challenge and an opportunity to turn more shoppers into buyers. Gap households have, for the most part, similar demographic characteristics as buying households. While Furniture|Today’s current survey did not delve into why consumers didn’t buy, previous research has shown the following as the top reasons.

• Features were not what I wanted.

• Changes in finances/budget priorities.

• Lack of quality furniture in my price range.

• Style issues.

• Size issues.

• Functionality did not meet my needs.

Gap household demographics: