NEW YORK — It’s a tale of two consumer mindsets right now when it comes to home furnishings purchases: the delayers and the spenders, with the wait-until-later shoppers maintaining the edge.
A look at the most recent consumer sentiment surveys from Dentsu, a provider of integrated marketing solutions, shows that in February, while 29% said they were reducing their spending or delaying a furniture purchase, 19% were just as likely to increase their spending or make an impulse buy. In January, the numbers were higher for both (35% and 25%, respectively) but sustained the 10 percent-point differential.
Home décor showed a similar dichotomy: There were more savers than spenders in both months, but the spread remained the same: 12 percentage points in the favor of those delaying a purchase.
When consumers did make a purchase in either the furniture or home décor category, they more often opted to do it with a switch to cheaper or bargain items. Nearly one-third (30%) of those surveyed in January said they opted for the less-expensive brand when buying furniture vs. 19% who said they splurged on an expensive or high-quality item.
In February, those who splurged on furniture increased slightly to 21%, while the bargain shoppers remained at 30%.
Within the home décor category, bargain buying rose from 29% in January to 32% in February, while splurging decreased, falling to 18% in February from 19% a month earlier.
However, among the 17 categories tracked in the Dentsu survey, furniture and décor fared well for splurging in both months. In February, furniture tied with luxury goods for the top spot, and home décor tied with events and was just behind electronics.
For its surveys, Dentsu engaged research company Toluna to poll an online panel of 1,000 U.S. respondents 18 and older on Jan. 15 and Feb. 12.