Consumers Continue to Shop for Home Goods Despite Inflation

August 29, 2022 from Floor Focus FloorDaily News

 

High Point, NC, August 29, 2022 – Retailers have been plagued by rising operational costs and a decrease in in-store shoppers, but new data suggests that consumers have not been entirely deterred by the higher cost of goods, reports Furniture Today.

“Throughout the better part of 2022, the United States has faced steep economic challenges and record-high inflation, with July seeing a 9.1% rise in the Consumer Price Index over the previous year. The ripple effect on the economy led to an alarming change in the price of goods across all major categories including, food, energy and commodities.

“It is no surprise that furniture and mattress retailers nationwide have been feeling these effects at the register with a noticeable decline in shoppers walking through their doors.

“In order to better understand the impact that furniture and mattress retailers have faced over the past several months, Esquire Advertising monitored the in-store foot traffic of retailers from a sample of 12 of the top metros across the country (Washington-Baltimore, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Pittsburgh, New York, New Orleans, Nashville, Memphis, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Cleveland).

“…the industry saw a nationwide foot traffic spike during February 2022 and again in April 2022, before a gradual downward slide through the middle of the summer.

However, “When analyzing the foot traffic trends of 2022 against the market as whole for 2020 and 2021, a new picture emerges. While the past few months have seen a decline, the data provides several key market indicators that should give retailers hope.

* 124% more traffic compared with all of 2021.

* 70% more traffic compared with the same time period of 2021 (January through July).

* 28% more traffic than during the end of 2021 (August through December).