A consumer’s view of RTA
Nearly nine out of ten consumers have bought furniture they assembled themselves at some point. And, 82% of those consumers have been satisfied, with 80% stating they would buy RTA again. That’s the word from nearly 5,000 consumers answering Furniture/Today and HGTV’s exclusive 2009 Consumer Views Survey.
There’s no question RTA furniture sells. Take Wal-Mart, the No. 1 furniture retailer. Much of its $2.02 billion in furniture sales last year were RTA. The same is true with the $1.49 billion worth of furniture sold through Ikea in 2008 and the $1.18 billion sold at Staples.
Which RTA pieces sell the most? Case goods, with home office and entertainment furniture as the leaders, are the most-purchased RTA pieces, according to our survey results. The following table lists RTA product categories bought by consumers:
| What ready-to-assemble products have you purchased? | |
| Desk |
70% |
| Other home office |
66% |
| Entertainment furniture |
62% |
| Curios |
31% |
| Youth/other adult bedroom |
28% |
| Infant bedroom |
27% |
| Occasional tables |
25% |
| Casual dining |
20% |
| Stationary chair |
18% |
| Futon |
17% |
| Master bedroom |
14% |
| Formal dining table/chairs |
12% |
| Source: Furniture/Today and HGTV 2009 Consumer Views Survey | |
Furniture/Today also asked consumers why they bought RTA. Price was the No. 1 reason, with 61% stating the product was less expensive. About half said they bought it because it was good quality for the money and 21% said it was what they liked best. Another 14% said they couldn’t find anything else they liked and 11% didn’t plan to own the furniture for long.
Several common problems were cited by consumers after making a RTA purchase. Two-thirds of consumers said the product wasn’t sturdy and 39% said it fell apart. Another third had difficulty understanding the assembly directions and 23% complained about missing parts. Only 15% of consumers stated the RTA product lacked style and looked bad.
All age groups have purchased RTA furniture, with buyers skewed towards younger consumers. Here’s a snapshot of buyers, based on our survey data:
- 90% of consumers under age 25 have bought RTA furniture
- 93% between 25 and 34
- 91% between 35 and 44
- 87% between 45 and 54
- 85% between 55 and 64
- 76% of consumers ages 65 or older have bought RTA
Jeff Frank commented:
It is interesting that this otherwise very thorough survey has neglected to include the category of RTA upholstered furniture.
Futons have been included in the survey, but RTA sofas, sectionals and even sleepers have existed for approximately 50 years but are always left out of the surveys and industry reports.
Consumers have been aware for many years that many different brands of inexpensive RTA sofas are available online or in IKEA and other life style stores.
More recently better quality RTA sofas, sleepers and sectionals have become available. One feature of this new technology is the ease of assembly. There is a video currently running on YouTube which shows a 170 lb. fully upholstered RTA sofa being assembled in less than 5 minutes -- by an 8 year old boy.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwPONAW3llY&feature=player_embedded
Bryan commented:
Check Out www.lockdowel.com
With the use of this technology, rta furniture will be much sturdier (never loosening)and much easier to assemble. The pieces just snap together without the use of any tools. Assemblers receive an audio assurance sound when mechanism is locked. Also, no more unsightly screws or cam locks. Lock dowels are invisible when snapped together. Go to our website and see for yourself.
scott d morgan commented:
wouldnt you know it ,techline the rolls royce of rta is defunct,it was almost the perfect rta product greta instructions parts always and factory follow up superb they had the rta world by the '/].=/-=./-and crazy management sank the ship never saw this quality again in the market bring back quality.soon
