Page 3 - Furniture Today 2018-Casegoods Path Purchase

04 April 2-8, 2018 FurnitureToday.com

Majority of consumers research 77% of consumers researched case goods

case goods online prior to purchase online before purchase.

By Courtney N. Thabet ing to companies or magazines that review products.
Only 1% of consumers began their research for Device used in online research
eventy-seven percent of consumers who have case goods on social media, but 17% used social me-
purchased case goods in the past two years re- dia for research at some point. Among those using Laptop 64%
S searched case goods online before buying, ac- social media for case goods furniture research, a ma-
Mobile phone 51%
cording to exclusive data from Furniture Today. jority, 86%, used Facebook, 42% watched YouTube,
Desktop computer 47%
Laptops were the most-used medium for con- 36% used Instagram, and 35% accessed Pinterest.
Tablet 23%
ducting online research, with 64% of consumers When asked how social media influenced their
using one. Fifty-one percent of online researchers case goods purchases, one theme consumers spoke
used their mobile phone to investigate case goods of was using social media for comparison purposes:
furniture, and 47% used a desktop computer. Less One consumer from the Northeast said, “It helped 51% of consumers researched their case
than one-quarter of consumers who researched on- me to compare and view many brands, locate as
goods purchase on their
line used a tablet. well as pinpoint where to find the particular brand
mobile phone.
Reading consumer reviews was the first step with the details I was interested in.”
on the online research path for 34% of consum- Another theme was the assistance social media
ers: 19% of consumers read evaluations on retail- provided in visualizing the space and furniture to-
ers’ websites, while 15% read them on marketplace gether. A consumer from the South explained: “Pin-
websites such as Amazon. terest gave me a lot of ideas for different types of
Thirty percent of online consumer research be- bookcases as well as how they might be set up in a
gan on search engines such as Google and Bing, room. The visual inspiration was really helpful as I
while 17% of consumers started at websites belong- was deciding what piece of furniture to purchase.”
Others used social media to con-
Information researched online
tact friends and family for their in-
put. A Southern respondent stated,
“I asked friends and family via social 90% Pricing
media for suggestions and various
61% Features
opinions.”
The most common information 54% Reviews from previous purchasers
sought out online, by nine of 10 con- 51% Where to buy in-store
sumers, was pricing. Information
46% Where to buy online
about the features of the furniture
were sought by 61% of online re- 41% Brands
searchers, 54% of consumers looked 34% Warranty
at reviews from previous purchasers,
28% Construction
51% looked for brick-and-mortar
store locations, and 46% looked for 1% Other*
online retailers. *Includes size, delivery and pictures

86%
First step in online research
Conducted search using a search engine 30%
Read online consumer reviews on retailer website 19% Social media used
Read online reviews from a company/magazine that reviews products 17% in online research
Read online consumer reviews on marketplace website 15%
Sought out information from retailer website 11%
Sought out information from manufacturer website 5% 42%
Sought out information via social media platforms 1% 35% 36%
Sought out information in magazines 1%
Other* 1% 25%
*Includes chatting with friends/family

6%

Snapchat Twitter Pinterest Instagram YouTube Facebook
Source: PBM Strategic Insights, February 2018 Furniture Today study