CONSUMER PSYCH 101

Connecting with today’s home furnishings shoppers—on their terms.

By Nicole Davis

Consumers have never been more empowered than they are today. From smartphones to social media, technology informs shoppers throughout the process, connects them to the opinions of their network as well as other recent buyers, and ensures the entire experience takes place on their own terms.

No pressure for the makers and sellers of home goods, right?

Understanding how to appeal to today’s web-based shoppers—from tech-native millennials to baby boomers—is no easy task. Listening to them is the first step.

SPEAK PRODUCT TO ME

Since the sale starts and ends with product, understanding the looks consumers are pining after in home furnishings is foundational.

In general, today’s on-trend design directions exude modern personality in eclectic ways, blending streamlined silhouettes with natural materials and functional attributes.

TOV Furniture’s customers are gravitating towards more muted tones, like its Yara pleated beige velvet sofa.

According to Chaya Krinsky, lead designer at TOV Furniture, both millennial and Gen Z consumers (the company’s top targets) are choosing soft hues. “While colors were playing such a huge story in glam furniture in the past few years, there’s now a big push for muted tones,” she says. “This is definitely from influences by top celebrities like Kylie Jenner.”

In a recent home tour published in Architectural Digest, readers got an inside look into the interior design choices of mega-influencer Kylie Jenner. Her dining room showcased neutrals and soft tones accented by bright pops of pink in the dining chairs and wall art. Taking inspiration from a favorite celebrity’s style is commonplace, particularly for younger consumers, explains Krinsky.

It’s not just color and silhouette that are prevailing. Other macro trends—like sustainability and wellness— are affecting consumers buying habits as well.

“We live in a complicated culture where different concerns that people have affect what they buy across the verticals,” says Dr. Michael Solomon, consumer behavior and branding expert. Yet, the daily pressures of competing in a competitive marketplace can make it difficult for product designers and marketers to avoid myopia and truly understand what people are buying, explains Solomon.

By identifying and synthesizing these trends in color, fashion, and culture, home furnishings companies can more accurately forecast what to bring to market.

CATER TO ME

Consumers in all demographics and locations expect shopping experiences to be on their terms. Whether it’s the color an item comes in or the hours a retailer is open—today’s shoppers now dictate the what, where and when of the buying equation.

It’s the larger retailers in the market that are actually setting this expectation in consumers’ minds, says Leslie Carothers, digital marketing expert in the home furnishings industry and owner of The Kaleidoscope Partnership and Savour Partnership. Larger companies with larger marketing budgets can afford more sophisticated digital tools, such as cutting-edge websites and augmented reality (A/R) technology that provide an in-store experience from home.

Consumers also want to interact with companies when it’s convenient for them. Modern lifestyles mean more work, more commitments and a faster pace of life, making stopping into a retail store more challenging. “A lot of customers are reaching out to companies today via Facebook, and people want to deal with retailers who understand how to use those tools well so that they can communicate how they want to communicate,” Carothers explains.

An example of an auto-reply Facebook chatbot from Leslie Carothers’ local client, Beyond Floors Net.

To meet customers where they are, Carothers suggests using technology such as Facebook chatbots and text messaging tools that promote responsiveness. Operating within Facebook messenger, chatbots are powerful because they can be customized. For example, if a customer contacts the business outside of normal hours, or when a salesperson is unavailable, they’ll get a customized autoreply from the chatbot— making a connection instead of leaving her unsatisfied. A message An example of an auto-reply Facebook chatbot from Leslie Carothers’ local client, as simple as “I’m sorry, Beyond Floors Net. we’re not available to talk right now, but please leave your question here and we’ll get back to you within an hour. If you need faster help, our phone number is….,” can get the job done.

The same principles apply to text messaging. In a retail environment, providing consumers with a way to text directly with the sales staff is just as effective. The key is to provide an instant reply and answer questions as quickly as possible so shoppers can take the next step.

“I think it’s really important for retailers to understand the buying patterns of modern moms and dads especially,” Carothers says. “Most of them are really busy when retailers are open, and that’s the problem. It’s not that they don’t want to come, they’re just busy.”

THINK LIKE ME

TOV’s director of operations Baila Bree agrees that prioritizing user-friendliness across the board makes it more likely you’ll secure the sale. This includes making sure that everything is easy-to-navigate, whether it’s the website, purchasing process or even a phone call to customer service.

“For example, even though we’re a wholesale brand, if someone is calling us asking ‘Where can I buy this product?,’ then we provide a precise answer,” Bree explains. “As a brand, it’s important that even if you’re not selling to them directly, people know who you are, and your message is easy to understand. They need to see who you are and what you’re aligned with.”

Thinking like a consumer gives both suppliers and retailers a perspective for reimagining their merchandising strategies to better align with consumers’ needs. For decades, retailers from furniture to clothing have been guilty of vertical merchandising, and according to experts, it’s just not the way people shop anymore.

“A retailer sells lamps, a manufacturer sells lamps, but a consumer buys a living room,” says Solomon. “The consumer is totally out of sync with the vertical way of selling. They’re buying across categories, thinking about that lamp in terms of how it goes with that sofa and rug and the paint color on the wall. Merchandising has to reflect that.”

TOV Furniture can attest to the power of a more horizontal selling strategy. The manufacturer takes a novel approach by merchandising its High Point Market trade showroom as if the buyers who are coming in or walking are actually the end-users. With dynamic displays, creative merchandising, and immersive pop-up events hosted in the showroom—the company is flipping the script on traditional product presentation. Walk into their showroom at market and you might find a DJ, a beauty bar staffed by professionals, a putt-putt golf course, a rosé bar and candy station, plus several Instagram-worthy vignettes waiting to be photographed and shared. “We try to convey our brand message as much as possible by treating the buyers as our ideal consumer,” says Krinsky. “This is something that we went out on a limb doing a few years ago and it’s working for us. It’s incredible to see that buyers are getting the message too.”

SHOW ME, DON’T TELL ME

In the rise of influencer marketing, consumers are relying more on peer-to-peer networks to inform their purchasing decisions than on the marketing and advertising manufacturers and suppliers provide.

“Retailers and manufacturers have to abandon that traditional top-down mindset and think of it more as a horizontal process now,” says Solomon. This means influencing a few consumers who are opinion leaders and relying on them to be the evangelists for the brand.”

Whether it’s courting online influencers or actively promoting and managing user reviews, they key to marketing to consumers is understanding their evolving buying habits.

“These evangelists are your best sales force,” Solomon adds. “Identifying those people, nurturing those people and relying on them to do the heavy lifting, especially in the online channel, is key.”

“People want to feel comfortable with who they’re doing business,” says Carothers. “If someone is just genuinely speaking to me, trying to educate or inspire me, and I see that every week, I become comfortable with you.”

Consumers also expect a seamless experience of online and off-line interactions. While innovations like augmented reality can help grow sales, improving the in-store experience is still essential.

“Ironically, tools like A/R are something that’s going to propel more online sales because you’re getting closer to the ‘real’ experience of having a piece of furniture in your house than you are in the brick-and-mortar environment,” says Solomon. “It shouldn’t be that way.”

Instead, retailers and merchandisers can draw inspiration from the in-store retail experiences such as the one created by Casper Mattress at their Manhattan retail space called The Dreamery. Shoppers can come in and test-drive one of the mattresses by booking a nap session in a private pod, complete with provided pajamas. “This is exactly what you want,” Solomon says. “Everything that you sell has to be a part of the consumer’s lifestyle.”