Consumer spend expectations in furniture spike

Spend expectations among furniture shoppers, particularly those buying sofas and mattresses, have risen considerably over the last four years – 14.7% for a sofa and 13.4% for a mattress. The emergence and popularity of premium furniture retailers such as Made.com, Loaf.com and Simba, which began to influence the market in 2015, have altered consumer expectations around spend.

That also means consumers are more likely to need to save for these items, or pay using finance, which is particularly the case for a sofa (almost 70% of consumers). And, that consumers are more likely to hang onto the piece for longer; only 5% of consumers would replace a sofa less than three years after purchase.

Spend expectation among consumers for key furniture items, 2015–2018, £

Length of time it takes consumers to save for key furniture items, %

Source: GlobalData survey of 12,000 UK consumers, November 2018