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While furniture tends to be a household item purchased infrequently, there are plenty of consumers who recently bought in this category. Among those who are buying furniture, what are their similarities and motives? How do these consumers feel about furniture brands? Where are they going to make their purchases? In Provoke Insights’ fourth wave of in-house research, we aimed to discover consumer mindsets, purchasing trends, and brand loyalty in several industries, including furniture.

Who’s Buying Furniture?

In the last month, nearly one in ten Americans (9%) purchased furniture. These consumers were more likely to be employed full-time and have children. They are also willing to pay more for sustainably sourced items and read the newspaper weekly. Interestingly, furniture shoppers are more concerned about shopping in-store due to COVID.

A major home improvement was a common motivator for furniture purchases. Furniture shoppers were also more likely to have recently moved homes. Furthermore, these shoppers have discretionary income to spend. In addition to furniture, they are buying other high-ticket items, such as electronics, vacations, and cars.

Where Are They Shopping for Furniture?

While in-store purchasing remains a popular furniture purchase method, online shopping in this category and catching up. Over two-fifths of furniture shoppers (43%) used the Internet for their purchases. The main reason for buying furniture online was the ease of purchase, followed by lower prices, free delivery, and more inventory available.

However, the in-store experience is not going away as the majority (79%) of consumers want to buy future furniture in stores. Those who plan to purchase online are younger, parents, affluent, and living in urban areas. Additionally, these online furniture purchasers are willing to pay more for sustainably sourced items.

Lack of Loyalty

Brand loyalty in the furniture industry is not high. Less than one-third of consumers (31%) said that they only or mostly purchase one brand of furniture. The majority of furniture shoppers (62%) purchase from many different brands. This lack of loyalty signals an area of improvement for furniture companies to stay top of mind.

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Methodology

Provoke Insights conducted a 15-minute survey in the spring of 2022 among 1,500 Americans between the ages of 21 and 65. A random stratified sample methodology was used to ensure a high degree of representation of the U.S. population (household income, age, gender, geography, ethnicity, and children in the household). Statistical differences between subgroups were tested at a 95% confidence level. The margin of error is +/-2.5%.

When it comes to launching a new food brand or line, market research can be make or break in determining the product’s success. Research can answer questions such as:

• What is the ideal price for the product?
• Who has the highest propensity to purchase the product?
• What markets would the product be most successful in? 
• What are the current eating habits of prospects and customers?
• Who is the competition?

Market research surely isn’t the only contributor to a product’s success, but it is a good place to start in ensuring a baseline of security within the market. Included below are the different ways market research could be helpful within the food industry context.

Ideal Price

When trying to determine the perfect price for a product, there are a lot of possible market research techniques to implement. One of the most widely used techniques is the Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter. This technique has participants assign prices to various prompts to understand the individual’s perception of the product’s value. Through plotting all of the price points collected, the ultimate result is theoretically the ideal price, something falling in between too-cheap and too-expensive.

Ideal Audience

One of the most utilized market research techniques to determine who the product should be marketed to is the use of segmentation. Researchers will ask consumers questions about themselves and their likelihood to purchase in an attempt to subdivide the market into more and less receptive consumers. Segmentation is a great technique because it helps companies better understand the sub-groups within their market and the different characteristics that are associated with each. This helps with understanding not only who to market to but how to market to them as well. 

Ideal Market

To help a company understand how successful their product is in a particular market, a company can determine a product’s market penetration. This involves quantifying how much of the market uses their product. This number can then be compared to their competitors to understand where they are falling short and thriving. Once this analysis is complete, a company can attempt to explore different marketing channels to increase its market share. Different channels could include premium and wholesale, for example. 

Trends

Market research can also be extremely helpful in understanding the current market situation. Because the economy, inflation, and world politics are so dynamic, companies must have a solid read on their market to ensure their product’s success. For example, in the last decade there has been a massive shift from brick and mortar stores to online purchasing platforms. Market research can help companies understand how best to market to their consumers in an increasingly online world, whether that means redesigning their websites, increasing their SEO, paying for pop-up ads, etc. In any case, it is essential that companies stay ahead of the curve and continuously iterate their marketing strategies. 

Understanding the Competition

Not only does market research help a company understand how customers are interacting with their product, but also their competitors. Especially in the hyper-competitive food industry market, companies that have a good understanding of their competitors will be able to better differentiate their products from the pack.  

Conclusion

As our world continues to change and evolve, so does the market. Consumer needs and preferences sometimes can be hard to keep up with, but market research allows companies to stay ahead of the curve during all product development and launch stages. This research is helpful and necessary to ensure the product’s initial and continued success. 

Interested in reading more on market research? Check out our other blogs here. 

• Market Research & the Metaverse: What Does the Future Hold?
• How to Spot Bad Survey Respondents
• The Pros & Cons of Hiring a Market Research Firm

Are you interested in our market research capabilities? 

• Take a look at our research strategies here.
• Email us at [email protected].
• Sign up for our newsletters here. 

The COVID-19 pandemic changed peoples’ going-out habits. For countless months, people had to take a pause on their normal activities, such as going out to bars, restaurants, and parties. Quarantine and social distancing became the new normal. In fall 2021, as people began to venture out more and more, we saw an increase in alcohol purchasing. In the spring of 2022, Americans continue to purchase alcohol. But who is buying alcohol? What trends do they follow? Where are they drinking alcohol? How loyal are they to their tried and true brands? At Provoke Insights, we created our fourth wave of in-house research with the goals of tracking consumer mindsets, purchasing trends, and brand loyalty in several industries, including alcohol.

Alcohol Purchaser Profiles

In the last three months, 73% of Americans purchased some type of alcohol. Let’s break it down by type.

The Beer Shopper

Beer is the most popular choice of alcohol, with almost half (48%) of Americans purchasing it. These shoppers are more likely to be millennials, male, and parents. Interestingly, beer purchasers are also the most loyal to their brands with over half (51%) agreeing that they are only or mostly loyal to one brand of beer. As they have less apprehension about eating out at restaurants than other purchasers, drinking outside the home is not a concern for this group. In fact, one-quarter are ordering beer while dining out, and one-third are drinking beer at bars. 

The Wine Shopper

Wine came in second place, as 44% of Americans have purchased it in the last three months. These shoppers tend to be female and have children. Unlike beer, wine drinkers are the least loyal to a specific brand as nearly three-quarters are open to trying new labels. They are more likely shopping small business and online. 

The Liquor Shopper

42% of Americans are purchasing liquor. These shoppers are very similar to those who purchase beer;  male, parents, and are less concerned about dining out. While other types of alcohol are more often consumed at home or casual parties, Liquor is more commonly reserved for bars and special occasions. 

The Hard Seltzer Shopper

Hard seltzer has yet to become a popular alcoholic beverage of choice as less than one-quarter (24%) of Americans are buying it. Those who are drinking this product are employed full-time and are willing to pay more for sustainably sourced items. Additionally, these drinkers are loyal, as nearly half (48%) have a hard seltzer brand they only or mostly buy. 

In-Store Sales Dominate

Among all the different types of drinks, in-store purchasing is the most popular method of obtaining alcohol. Only 10% or less of shoppers from each category prefer to purchase online. While online shopping for wine was a popular method last year, it has decreased greatly. In 2021, 41% of wine purchasers bought wine on the internet. However, in 2022, this number has gone down to 10%.

Download the full report for free here.

Methodology

Provoke Insights conducted a 15-minute survey in the spring of 2022 among 1,500 Americans between the ages of 21 and 65. A random stratified sample methodology was used to ensure a high degree of representation of the U.S. population (household income, age, gender, geography, ethnicity, and children in the household). Statistical differences between subgroups were tested at a 95% confidence level. The margin of error is +/-2.5%.