Sunday, November 19, 2017

Your best future customers may not be who you think

 It seems sometimes that all anyone wants to talk about these days is Millennial's.There are 80 million of them (possibly more depending on who's counting). They're already the biggest demographic in the market and are about to take over the purchasing world as they get jobs, set up houses and start having kids. You’d think they were the only customers that matter... They’re not.


Aside from the millions of still-buying Baby Boomers and the only slightly smaller and often forgotten Generation X, there’s another highly influential, widespread and likely bigger-ticket-buying group you may be overlooking as you plan the future of your stores – interior designers.

Tom Conley, CEO of the High Point Market Authority, in a recent television interview with Furniture Today revealed that 47% of market attendance today is made up of designers. That’s a dramatic change from the days when this same group couldn’t get in most showrooms let alone enjoy the sought-after status to which they’ve risen today.
And if you think they’re only buying high-end product for a small coterie of uber-wealthy clients, think again. One of the positive consequences of America’s love affair with HGTV, aside from the proliferation of celebrity brands, is a democratization of design. And while that may have convinced some shoppers they can design on a dime for themselves or turn any yard sale find into haute couture interior décor, for many others it has made the idea of having their home professional designed both more desirable and more accessible.
The result is a dramatic growth in this market segment with various estimates placing the number of interior designers between 77,000 and 128,000 nationally, generating more than $15 billion in business annually.

There are a growing number of furniture stores that are tapping into this potential, either by building or expanding their own cadre of designers or by working more proactively to develop pricing and service structures that make their store a more viable purchase alternative for this rapidly expanding segment of shoppers.
I was speaking to the CEO of a large retail operator that has been very active using free design services to build traffic and tickets. He explained that the average sale when a consumer walks into the store and makes a purchase is around $5,000. If that same consumer has one of the store’s designer come into their home for a consultation that ticket jumps to $20,000. Not too shabby.

Certainly 128,000 designers will not match the volume of 80 million Millennials. But at a time when the battle for every sale is more critical than ever this rapidly emerging customer segment offers new opportunities, and those will only grow as people begin to explore the potential synergies.
If you’re finding success in the designer arena, we’d like to hear your success story.

Monday, February 6, 2017

Coming Soon (New Hunter Douglas Showcase display)

Our new Hunter Douglas Showcase display has now arrived and we are looking so forward to showcasing all the new and innovative ways to enhance your residential and commercial windows and doors. The interactive display will be very informative when complete... stay tuned!

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Niagara more attractive working together: Diodati

Niagara more attractive working together: Diodati
Wednesday’s Southern Tier Mayors’
Luncheon will be an opportunity for
leaders to “understand more how all
the pieces of the region fit together,
and how our strengths fill in each
others’ weaknesses,” says Niagara
Falls Mayor Jim Diodati.