American Demand For Household Furniture Gauges Trends Of The Furniture Market

Furniture World Magazine

Generally, the outlook for the furniture industry appears good. This is the most important conclusion reached in the new update published by AKTRIN Furniture Information Centre, in High Point, North Carolina. The report on the American Demand for Household Furniture and Trends, outlines important trends for the residential furniture industry. "We look at the future in the next couple of years as being positive, "AKTRIN's President, Stefan Wille, said. "The economy may slow down. The growth we saw last year may not continue, but we still see healthy growth there. Interest rates may go up, but it shouldn't dampen consumer demand to any great extent." Nevada and Utah are likely to have the highest growth rates in the household furniture spending during the next 10 years, at 38% and 35%, respectively. Other growth states are expected to be Arizona (34%), Florida (32%) and Alaska (31%) according to this study. The District of Columbia (1%), New York (10%), North Dakota and West Virginia (both at 11%) are forecast among the toughest places to sell furniture over the next decade. North Carolina is predicted to enjoy a healthy 25 percent growth in household spending on furniture. The figures are tied to predicted growth in real disposable income, the most dominant factor that drives sales of furniture and other big-ticket items. Total real disposable income per household is expected to increase 14.2%, or about 1.3% per year, between 1995 and 2005. Households themselves are also expected to grow. Households in the United States are predicted to grow 9.5% over the next decade. Household furniture spending is projected to increase at 19% during the same period. That would take the industry from estimated sales of $47.7 billion in 1995 to $60.0 billion in 2005 (in constant 1997 dollars). The one negative is debt levels in the United States. "The American consumer is quite heavily indebted," he noted. "That always puts a damper on the purchase of large-ticket items like furniture and major appliances. If people already have a high debt load, they are not likely to buy furniture." "Such debt will not disappear overnight," Wille said, " but the forecast doesn't call for it to cripple furniture sales." For more information about purchasing this information, please call AKTRIN Furniture Information Centre in High Point at (336) 841-8535.