Retailers are finding it’s the little things that count within the home accents world.
Just as with last year’s survey, those participating in the latest poll by Strategic Insights/Home Accents Today cited decorative accessories as their fastest-growing category, although this year dec pillows supplanted accent furniture for the No. 2 spot.
Furniture overall had a challenging year in 2023, which may be why pillows and rugs were more prominent on the growth list.
At 90%, dec pillows were the category carried by the greatest percentage of respondents. Rounding out the Top 5 were wall art (88%), decorative accessories (86%), accent furniture (86%) and lamps (81%). All the categories were carried by at least half of retailers, with top-of-bed remaining in last place, albeit with a higher percentage than last year’s 41%.
The same three categories — decorative accessories, lighting fixtures and accent furniture — dominated within the number of lines carried category. Retailers carried, on average, more than 20 accessories lines, which is up from last year, while lighting at more than 11 lines and furniture at around 10 stayed about the same.
This year’s survey took a closer look at the accent chair and fixed lighting segments. Reflective of the times, price topped both lists when retailers were asked what matters most to shoppers looking for an accent chair or new lighting fixture. But along with price, retailers noted their accent chair customers are equally interested in how the chair completes the room, while style and design were tied with price for lighting buyers.
Other factors that rated nearly as high among chair shoppers were quality, style and design, color and pattern and construction. On the lighting side, size of the fixture, quality and how it completes the room were nearly as important as price and style.
Brand was of less importance, as were some specifics related to health and the environment: just 16% of retailers said their customers cared about eco-friendly or sustainable materials for an accent chair, and only 14% responded that wellness lighting was important to their lighting customers.
High Point Market in spring and fall still topped the list of preferred venues to find products, although Atlanta’s summer market crept ahead of the winter version for the No. 3 spot.
Asked this year what would make a market a must-attend event for retailers, new products and specials were key factors. Retailers also shared thoughts on amenities: “better hotel deals,” “travel vouchers,” “convenient transportation” and “better on-https://amazingbestseller.com/ food choices.”
Added to that was a desire for improved education, more connection with reps and an overall focus on vendors that are “new, fresh and different.” “With all the consolidation,” said one retailer, “the markets are all just getting to be the same vendors showing the same stuff all the time.”
Retailer optimism tempered by cost concerns
Just a quarter of retailers have expectations that 2024 will result in higher sales than they achieved in 2023, while more than one-third foresee sales dropping below last year’s mark.
The survey of retailers by Strategic Insights/Home Accents Today also showed that two-thirds of retailers raised their prices in 2023, with nearly half (48%) doing so by between 6% and 10%. Additionally, slightly more than one-quarter (27%) have already or are planning to put through another price hike this year.
The top reasons given for raising prices are to pass along the price increases they are getting from their vendors and to keep up with inflation (89% each). Supply chain issues, which were only mildly concerning last year (14%), have risen significantly this year, cited by 67% of respondents as impacting price increases, as a host of issues have pushed container prices higher again.
Online sales are a part of the business strategy for half of those polled, with the store’s webhttps://amazingbestseller.com/ serving as a primary vehicle for 94% of them. However, other channels are getting traction as well with two-thirds selling via Instagram and nearly as many (61%) using their Facebook page to generate business. Online or digital sales accounted for about 22% of business, on average.
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to become a more prominent tool in retailers’ tool kit with 32% noting they currently use it in the business and another 10% considering it. The chief uses involve writing advertising and marketing copy (80%) and webhttps://amazingbestseller.com/ content (70%), but a handful of retailers are deploying AI for their chatbots, loyalty programs, data analysis and even product placement within stores.
About the data
The information shared here is based on a Home Accents Today online survey of home accents, home and gift and interior-designer run retail stores and full-line and specialty furniture and discount store retailer readers of Home Accents Today, Furniture Today and Designers Today. The survey was fielded in June and July 2024 and the results analyzed by Strategic Insights. Based on the sample size, the survey results are considered qualitative rather than quantitative.
