92% of Americans want it! This type of product continues to be popular

Although life is gradually returning to normal, most Americans interviewed said they will spend more time in outdoor spaces such as yards and porches this year. Outdoor home furnishings have become very popular, with 92% of Americans having outdoor furniture or accessories on their wish lists. Popular products include outdoor lighting, lounge chairs, etc.

Home furnishings continue to sell well and enter the top search terms list on Amazon.

There are two major categories in summer - women's products such as women's clothing and swimsuits, and 3C products such as the Apple series. But in addition to these, there is another big category that has long remained on the buyers' hot search list - home furnishings.

During the pandemic, Americans generally designed, remodeled and renovated their homes, replacing old furniture such as sofas, beds and chairs with new and beautiful furniture. In the home decoration stage, people preferred decorative items such as carpets, pillows and tapestries; if consumers were not satisfied with their existing furniture, they were most likely to replace decorative pillows and carpets, followed by furniture.

As a result, the sales of furniture, home decoration and other products have increased significantly. In the latest Amazon US site TOP200 search terms list, many subcategories of the home category rushed to the top:

Furniture: tables, gaming chairs, office chairs, TV stands, bed frames, dressing tables, coffee tables, bookshelves, bedside tables, benches, office desks and chairs

Home decoration: shower curtain, shoe rack, room decoration, blackout curtain, curtain, bathroom rug, tapestry, bathroom decoration, bathroom shelf, storage rack, laundry basket, wall shelf

Outdoor furniture: beach chairs, patio furniture sets, outdoor rugs, beach umbrellas

Among them, tables and other items have maintained a high search level for a long time, and the search volume for large bed frames is still significantly higher than before the epidemic.

( Google popularity trend of bed frame in the past five years )

The UK site also has a strong demand for household products. Garden furniture, shoe racks, shoe cabinets, sun loungers, storage boxes, tables, camping chairs, gaming chairs, outdoor garden decorations, shower curtains, etc. are also among the top hot search keywords.

In this favorable background, home furnishing sellers have reaped great rewards. In 2021, Zhiou Home Furnishing's revenue reached 5.97 billion yuan, of which the furniture series, home series, garden series, and pet series sold 3.09 billion yuan, 1.88 billion yuan, 630 million yuan, and 340 million yuan respectively; from January to March this year, Zhiou's revenue was 1.43 billion yuan, and the average sales prices of furniture, home, garden, and pet series were 409 yuan, 217.6 yuan, 355 yuan, and 336 yuan respectively, with gross profit margins remaining between 45% and 55%.

This year, the dividends of the "home economy" have decreased, and consumers' demand for furniture and home furnishing products has declined, but it is still at a high level compared to before the epidemic, and this situation will continue for some time.

According to a local agency survey of nearly 70,000 Americans, home renovation activities and spending have reached the highest level since 2018. In 2021 , about 55% of homeowners renovated their homes, with a median expenditure of $18,000 . This year, renovation activities are still continuing, with 55% of homeowners planning to renovate their homes and 46% planning to decorate, and demand for home products remains strong.

Among the home furnishing categories, outdoor home furnishings have emerged as a new force.

92% of Americans want outdoor home products

As a popular place for leisure and entertainment, the advantages of outdoor space have been magnified due to the epidemic. In 2021, American consumers paid more attention to outdoor life and made considerable investments in decorative accessories, tables and chairs, carpets and other aspects.

A survey of American consumers conducted by the International Casual Furniture Association earlier this year showed that nearly 90% of respondents had outdoor living spaces such as porches and patios for relaxing and cooking. Last year, they tidied their gardens and purchased outdoor furniture and chairs. Although offices and schools have reopened, more and more Americans still choose to work from home.

Ninety percent of the respondents said that they would spend more time outdoors in 2022, and 70% of them said that they would spend more time outdoors this year than last year, reaching an average of 7 hours per week, and nearly half of them said that the time was more than 10 hours.

Currently, almost all Americans (92%) have outdoor furniture or accessories on their future wish lists, including outdoor lighting (51%), lounge chairs (47%) and fire pits (45%), which are higher than 34%, 34% and 35% in 2021. 63% of Americans will buy more outdoor furniture or accessories this year. In addition to the three categories of products such as lounge chairs, they will also buy dining tables/chairs, umbrellas, sofas, pillows and rugs.

People hope to turn outdoor spaces into oases for rest, where they can barbecue, drink, and entertain friends and family. Young people are particularly enthusiastic about decorating outdoor spaces.

According to the survey, outdoor furniture ranks first on the shopping list of Generation Z , with 47% of them buying single chairs, 40% buying modular chairs, and 43% buying occasional tables ; Millennials are the main buyers of dining tables, outdoor lighting and rugs, while Generation X and Baby Boomers spend more on outdoor umbrellas than younger generations.

In most cases, consumers have moderate budgets for decorating their outdoor entertainment spaces. In 2021, about one-third of consumers will spend less than $200, about 70% will have a budget of less than $1,000, and 1% will spend big on outdoor furniture, spending more than $10,000.

In terms of acquisition channels, 56% of respondents shop entirely or mainly in physical stores, but 47% of Generation X and Generation Z are keen on online shopping. In the United States, the retail winners are Amazon US online shopping and home furnishing stores such as Lowe's. Pure online furniture stores and mass merchant websites are also popular among online shoppers.

Domestic sellers have natural supply chain advantages. China has long been the largest importer of American furniture. In 2021, China exported $9.117 billion worth of furniture to the US market, an increase of 24% over the previous year.

The U.S. home furnishing market has a bright future

In the long run, the home furnishing market has a promising future. In 2019, the U.S. home furniture and bedding market size was approximately US$138.2 billion, and is expected to reach US$183.5 billion by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 3.07% from 2021 to 2027.

However, the home furnishing industry has many subcategories. How can overseas sellers choose the right categories and platforms, find matching high-quality supply chains, and avoid overseas pitfalls? Obviously, this requires a lot of homework, and a comprehensive industry event can help sort out ideas.

The China (Guangzhou) International Furniture Fair was founded in 1998 and is held in Pazhou, Guangzhou in March and in Hongqiao, Shanghai in September every year. Its scale and influence are second to none and it can be regarded as a beacon in the industry.

Starting from July 17, the 49th China International Furniture Fair will be held in Pazhou, Guangzhou, covering civil furniture (250,000 square meters), accessories and home textiles (100,000 square meters), outdoor furniture (50,000 square meters), office environment and commercial space (200,000 square meters), furniture production equipment and accessories (170,000 square meters). This year's conference has set up a special cross-border e-commerce zone, and Amazon, eBay and Shopee platforms have also set up exhibitions and opened official special forums, jointly promoting a cross-border circle of home furnishing category information explosion.

Invited by the Home Expo, Ennet will hold a large home furnishing cross-border summit forum in Guangzhou on July 18 to discuss cross-border home furnishing overseas. What are the cross-border trends and opportunities of home furnishing under the new situation? How can an independent home furnishing website grow from 0 to 1 million US dollars? How to enter and operate Wayfair, a battleground? How can the home furnishing manufacturing industry transform into cross-border e-commerce? What are the pitfall avoidance guides for large furniture overseas expansion? 20-year veterans of overseas expansion, senior home furnishing sellers on Amazon and Wayfair platforms, etc. will share in depth.

Scan the QR code below or click to read the original text to sign up and get a glimpse of the full picture of home furnishing products going overseas!

Read the original link: https://www.ennews.com/Phone/SpeApply/ciff?sou=wz_pc_db

The 49th China International Furniture Fair

Home Furnishings