WHY IS IT ... 20 YEARS AGO, THERE WERE OVER 40,000 FURNITURE STOREFRONTS IN THE U.S., BUT BY RECENT YEARS, THIS NUMBER HAD DECREASED TO AROUND 22,000

Recent data suggests there are around 15,000 to 20,000 total furniture stores in the U.S. in 2025, with independent retailers likely comprising a significant but shrinking portion of this total—potentially around 10,000 to 15,000, though this is a conservative estimate and could be lower due to ongoing consolidations and closures.

OUCH

On March 9, 2025, I read an article in Furniture Today: Can we untrain, then retrain, consumers to buy value? | Sheila Long O’Mara

?Can we untrain, then retrain, consumers to buy value? | Sheila Long O'Mara - Furniture Today

?The article addressed the industry’s reliance on Holiday Sales for Mattress Retailers, BUT it is the same issue, industry-wide.

WHY IS THAT?

Of course, the usual excuses. Economy, Housing starts, Consumer Confidence, and wait for it, COVID, or something.

In my opinion, if you only rely on Holiday Sales, you have 2 MAJOR ISSUES and 5 ways to change it!

#1 You are working with a mindset of retailing in 2005, when advertising SALES was prominent, and you only had a couple of mediums to promote your store

#2 You don’t have anyone on staff that is doing research as to what, why, and how Today’s Consumers shop and buy stuff and the ability to execute on their findings. (Or it is too expensive….BUT when you have a GOB, you’ll market the heck out of it, right)?

I have, Ad Nauseam, tried to help my industry understand what is happening when it comes to buying furniture and stuff. I haven’t counted all the tips, posts and articles, but I’m sure it’s close to one hundred.

So let me discuss 5 facts that you are probably ignoring….and paying the price for ignoring them, in short form and previous article links I’ve posted.

And how the two major issues I mentioned above work hand in hand to help you NOT meet your sales goals.

#1 - Social Media and AI Search are the Go-To Platforms to find products, reviews and just about anything else.

FACT #1– SOCIAL MEDIA

As of July 2023, there were 5.19 billion internet users worldwide. Of these, 4.88 billion were social media users.

• 60% of business-to-consumer (B2C) brands get their customers through social media
• 76% of social media users have purchased something they saw on social media.
• Growth is predicted to be driven primarily by Gen Z and Millennial social media users, accounting for 62% of global social commerce spending by 2025
• 72.7 million Millennials (born 1981-1996) and 69.31 million Gen Z (born 1997-2012)

That’s 142 million consumers you probably are NOT reaching, even with your Holiday Sales!

READ MORE ABOUT MY RESEARCH & THE FACTS, HERE https://lnkd.in/eHs-2HB

FACT #2 – YOUR CONTENT IS BASIC, BORING AND NOT ENGAGING

This problem has its roots from the manufacturer pushing out what they wrote on their API Feed to all their retailers, so everyone who sells their products has “Sameness”. People do NOT want “Pedestrian Anything”.

• In-depth Product Content, utilizing Keywords for SEO. Tagging Small Space Furniture, etc. Product features, benefits and so much more
• Quality Stories - Consumers demand product quality, the research below will show that. How it is made, sustainability, warranty information, and much more. Don't forget the Green Story, Millennials & Gen Z require that
• 3D Product Rendering to show a 360-degree view and close-ups of the product materials and more. PLUS a room planning platform that is EASY to place those furniture and accessory items and be able to save and edit it FOREVER

AND MORE (These are just a few)

OMG, have you tried AI for content? It is so easy and wonderful. Just feed the platform the basics and ask it to write you an engaging description. You’ll be shocked how good it is and how easy.

Then I’d start replacing the manufacturer's basic descriptions with the new AI descriptions. You can probably find a high school or college student to do this for very little money.

I BET YOU ARE NOT ADDRESSING THE CURRENT AND FUTURE HOUSING MARKETS

It will take a few years for the housing market to boom again. Yes, interest rates are coming down a bit, but can your store afford to wait it out?

FACT #3 – PEOPLE ARE NOT BUYING HOUSES; THEY ARE RENTING UNTIL INTEREST RATES FALL.

And I bet your store, website and promotions do NOT address this FACT

Over 416,000 new apartment complexes will be built this year, and the average apartment size is 1,200 sq ft. Multifamily?construction in the last two years is?at a 50-year high.

The average rent for this size apartment ranges between $1,200.00 - $2,300.00

Additionally, retirees are downsizing to smaller homes, condos, or apartments. Back when I ran the marketing at Ashley Furniture, we promoted “Room Packages” and what was hot, were coordinated room packages: Living, Dining, and Bedrooms with the same design theme.

NOT ANYMORE. People are NOT buying rooms anymore, they are buying “pieces” and smaller ones with storage options that fit into apartments, and small space living quarters.

I bet you are NOT promoting items on your website, in your store, or on any of your social media to promote this buying fact.

Wayfair, Walmart, Target, Amazon, and many of your largest online furniture retailers do. Why do you let them take away your business?

READ MORE ABOUT MY RESEARCH ON SMALL SPACE LIVING & THE FACTS, HERE; https://lnkd.in/e7-PzUp5

FACT #4 -? 75% OF CONSUMERS SURVEYED STATE THEY WOULD RATHER SHOP IN-STORE VS. ONLINE.

What are you doing to capture this FACT?

Are you using your website and social media to drive in-store traffic? Not just Facebook, but all the platforms!

BUY IN-STORE AND SAVE. Consider offering Furniture HOT BUYS In-Store ONLY. Maybe tag items with an icon showing this. The goal is to get them in your store and potentially up-sell them with rugs, lamps, accessories, and more.

BUT, you must have your store dressed

Signs increase business as much as 150%

Proper signage and point-of-sale (POS) materials can help increase sales and impulse buys dramatically.

Using in-store visual triggers effectively may increase your sales by up to 29.5% since attention equals opportunity and unplanned purchases.

Not only can you promote your specials, product features, benefits, construction, etc. You can create a Small Space Living Section/Gallery. (FYI, we’ve created over 1,800 In-Store Furniture Galleries…We can help)!

FACT #5 – YOU PURPOSELY IGNORE THE POWER OF SHORT PRODUCT VIDEOS HIGHLIGHTING FEATURE, BENEFITS AND MORE

Consumers find short-form Content A Staggering 2.5 Times more engaging than long-form videos or reading your content. This explosive growth is evident across platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels, Facebook, and YouTube, where users are increasingly turning to quick, relevant content.

• 73% of all consumers prefer short videos describing products
• Short videos have the highest ROI
• l? Users spend an average of 45 minutes with short videos

More ideas

• At the furniture markets, using your phone, video record your Sales Rep making a demonstration on the product(s) you are interested in. (Ask permission to use it, or duplicate it with your people when it is floored).

READ MORE ABOUT MY RESEARCH ON SHORT FORM VIDEOS & THE FACTS, HERE: https://lnkd.in/ge4acrPc

SUMMARY

STOP making excuses and start paying attention to how 142,000,000 people shop today.

I have a ton of more information and research I could share, but I doubt most in our industry won’t even read this.

If you’d like, reach out to me and I’d be more than happy to discuss all of this and more. No Strings Attached, NO Sales pitch.

WE CAN REVIEW?AND DISCUSS;

Website & Web Presence ??Social & Digital Marketing Platforms ? Brand Management?? ?Retail?Strategy ? Your Marketing, Advertising & Promotion Strategies & Tactics ?? Marketing Communications

Or any other discussion item you want to address.

Check out what My customers have said about my work: Bill Napier Business Overview - NAPIER MARKETING GROUP, LLC

Bill Napier

Managing Partner

Napier Marketing Group, LLC. [email protected] 612-217-1297? (Main Number)?

www.napiermkt.com

www.social4retail.com?(The largest FREE marketing informational website in North America)