Furniture sellers adapt to a nationwide drop in sales
Furniture sellers adapt to a nationwide drop in sales
We took a gander at this week’s retail sales data from the Census Bureau, and there was a number deep in the data that caught our eye. Page 6, Column 2, about a third of the way down the page: Furniture sales were down nearly 8% in August from a year earlier.
There are a few reasons that we’re buying fewer love seats and sideboards and ottomans. It has to do with stalled home sales, dwindling consumer confidence and the lifespan of an ottoman.
At Urban Links Furniture & Appliances in Baltimore, new and used pieces cover every inch of the floors and even some of the walls.
Owner AJ Venable opened the store in 2020. He said for the first two years, people were buying basically everything. These days sales are down, and customers are more price-sensitive.
“Used, everybody wants used because it’s cheaper,” Venable said.
One reason customers are spending less is they feel less sure of their ability to afford furniture.
“Consumer confidence is very important for all big-ticket spending. Are you confident in your job, in your financial future?” said Brad Thomas, a consumer analyst with KeyBanc Capital Markets.
Also, those ottomans and sofas they bought at the height of the pandemic? Still good! Thomas pointed out that upholstered furniture can last a solid five to seven years.
And with home sales down, they have fewer reasons to seek out new sectionals.
“Moving activity is important,” Thomas said. “When you move into a new home, your home is likely to be a different size and shape and potentially a different style than where you lived before. And that’s an important catalyst for home-related purchases.”
Some in the industry are seeing stalled home sales influence the kind of furniture people are buying. That includes the Seth Michael store in downtown Baltimore, where the showroom is open by appointment only.
One of the owners, Michael Wright, said people want more versatile pieces like sleeper sofas.
“They’re like, well, ‘We’re stuck here for a little bit.’ So people are just rethinking their spaces and how they use them,” Wright said.
He added that they’re capitalizing on people nesting, if they’re not moving.
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