Furniture/Today Senior Retail Editor, Clint Engel interviewed random retail buyers at the Las Vegas Furniture Market on camera. The footage was shown on the F/T web site during February and as of this writing until today. (click here to see video)

One of the questions he asked of the interviewees was whether the Economic Stimulus Package passed in Washington would help the furniture business. I found the answers interesting. Nearly all gave responses ranging from a semi-positive, “I hope so” to a negative, “I don’t think so.”

My interest peaked because it occurred to me that sometimes we don’t see a gift when it’s presented to us. In my book, Furniture Retailing 101, I hammer home the obvious point that every furniture retailer is in direct competition with every other industry with companies that market their products to consumers’ discretionary incomes. Everyone eats from the same trough. The automobile, travel, barbeque grill, jewelry, and lawn mower industries all have their hands out trying to capture the customers’ money.

Instead of hoping the package will help or not thinking the package will help maybe the mindset might be, “how can we use it to capture more sales?

Could a retailer not promote something like?

“Your Tax Rebate is worth twice as much at XYZ Furniture” (XYZ Furniture will match the face value of your tax rebate up to X% of your purchase)

“Your tax rebate is worth X% more at XYZ Furniture”

“XYZ furniture offers its customers 120% of their rebates”

“Bring in your rebate checks or facsimiles and select furniture for 120% of the face value”

“Buy today at 20% off any item when you pay with your rebate checks”

“Pay with your rebate checks and we'll pay the sales tax”

“Use your tax rebate check for the down payment and we’ll make your purchase interest free for X years”

In this uncertain and difficult economy, every retail company should identify, create a strategy for, and execute that strategy for any and every opportunity that comes along. With a little creativity and merchandising and marketing talent, the hoping it will help mindset might change to simply it will help.

The above approaches may be planned by some retailers, somewhere in the country, I don’t know. I don’t know if this tactical approach would even work, although I believe it would. What I do know, is that where the consumer spends that tax rebate is up-in-the-air until they spend it. Doesn’t it make sense for a retail company to try to assure that they spent their dollars inside it’s showrooms and use any opportunity that came along to do it.

Sometimes, gift horses and opportunities just need to be recognized, shaped into a strategy, and executed to receive the real value that they may afford. Otherwise, they may just pass by unidentified and unexploited.