This document summarizes research from furniture retailers and consumer research organizations on shopping behaviors and decision-making processes of furniture buyers. Some key findings include: - 40% of consumers reported shopping for furniture in the past year but did not purchase anything - Consumers want simple, easy-to-understand information before buying furniture to feel more confident in their decisions - Women in particular go through 5 stages when planning home decor changes - dreaming, exploring, planning, selection, and enjoyment - Retailers need strategies to engage customers at each stage and build loyalty to bring them back for future purchases

1. Consumer Research for Furniture Retailers How Your Selling Strategy is Developed

2. Furniture Today Annual Buying Survey Aimed at determining what categories consumers are shopping for Performed each January, reported each February Forget the categories … 40% of people polled reported they shopped for furniture in the past year, but did not buy

3. What This Means to You If you greeted 100 customers per month last year – 1,200 total, 480 of them may not yet have purchased. Do you know who they are? Could you get them back? These numbers have been consistent for 8 years in a row!

4. New Research From the NHFA and HGTV This was done in August 2007 by the research firm OTX Inc. This was a huge study on a national basis with a high degree of statistical accuracy HGTV is highly watched by women who are thinking about, or involved in, room decorating projects

5. When Asked About Shopping for Furniture 42% (4 out of 10) said there are too many options Both in items and stores In other research from Furniture /Today magazine – 40% said they shopped in the past year but did not buy! Could there be a connection?

6. Design Issues 41% said they have too much uncertainty about design Not just of the furniture, but of the room! There’s that 40% again…

7. Making The Selection Decision 30% said there is too little information around how to make a selection This is a product knowledge and design issue You need to understand your customer’s expectations around quality, price and value AND, for the whole room, not just this piece they’re looking at

8. What Consumers Want From Us 75% of respondents said they would use a resource that provided simple, easy-to-understand information prior to buying furniture

9. For the Future 40% said they would buy furniture more often if they had confidence in their buying decisions You have to give them this confidence through the way you deal with every customer, every time

10. More Research From Lexington Home Brands ® Consumers, mostly women, go through a series of mental processes when planning a change in their homes The decision making processes apply directly to how they plan and execute a change to a room There are 5 stages to the process

11. DREAMING Some mental image of the outcome begins the process They’ll watch HGTV, go on line, read shelter magazines and visit some stores “ I’m just looking for ideas” “ I’m just looking” They really mean just that You disconnect if you try to sell them at this point – or get too “pushy”

12. EXPLORING Now they really begin shopping in earnest, but they still aren’t ready to be pushed into something You can be taken off the shopping list by making a mistake at this stage They still need some space and some advice – but not from a “salesperson” How do you connect to them?

13. PLANNING Now they’re getting serious, and this is when the things you do can turn them on, or turn them off The help you provide in helping them properly plan a change (a room) is EVERYTHING at this point

14. SELECTION If you’re disconnected, or they’ve taken you off their shopping list because of what happened before, you won’t even see them now If you’ve connected to the person and the project , this now becomes a partnership around solving a decorating problem – and you’re in.

15. ENJOYMENT This is an actual definable phase of the process – this is when the satisfaction takes place And, it’s when doors open for the future

16. Bad News, Good News Bad news : 75% of buyers who are satisfied with their product purchase will make their next purchase at another store Good news : You have a strategy to change this statistic, ensure high customer loyalty, and bring them back to you .

17. Our Own Stats 80% or MORE of all customer visits, don’t result in a purchase being made First-time shoppers (on a specific project) buy less than 10% of the time Return customers on a project (be-backs) buy 70% of the time Getting them back is the major purpose of your customer engagement strategy