CrossCheck Blog

Furniture is more about the experience than it is about being utilitarian. People are looking for statement pieces with meaning, and nothing is more in than sustainable, do-it-yourself (DIY) furniture projects. There’s even a DIY network. Home furnishing stores in tune with that trend have a competitive advantage.

A tiny house movement is on the rise in America as more and more people downsize their living spaces to save money, use fewer resources or simplify their lives. With small or tiny houses ranging from 100 to 400 square feet in area, home furnishings stores can increase sales by catering to the various price points, functionality, and size restrictions of their customers.

With furniture industry growth continuing to outpace the U.S. economy, the time is ripe for all home furnishings dealers to join the party. According to Mike Hudgens, the southeast regional manager of CIT Commercial Services, the upward trend is attributed to “strong performances in bedroom and dining room furnishing sales.” Hudgens believes the “U.S. furniture markets have seen an uptick due in large part to new home sales and an increase in consumer spending as they look to furnish homes.”

What are you selling besides home furnishings? The answer could have a significant impact upon your holiday sales. And this year's could be the best in a long while. U.S. construction spending exceeded pre-recession levels this summer, hitting an annual rate of a trillion dollars. Housing starts jumped 15% for single-family homes, spurred on by the fact that the housing inventory dropped nearly 2%.

Millennials are in their twenties and thirties right now and they know for a fact that they’re heroes. You better know it, too, if you want to sell home furnishings to them this year and next. In fact, you better know it if you want to sell any furniture at all, because your Millennial sale probably includes a Boomer sale, and vice versa.

Are you ready for the Summer Las Vegas Market? North American Home Furnishings Association preferred vendor CrossCheck is and so is the industry! Be sure to visit us at Booth 28 in the Retailer Resource Center to speak with home furnishings veteran, Charles Dortch III, about how CrossCheck can help you mitigate risk and increase sales.

Now that pending home sales have hit their highest level in nine years, building supply and landscaping nursery owners and managers may want to prepare for homeowners improving their property for sale. Today, selling a home requires that most homeowners consider their house as a commodity with a certain value that they must present in as attractive a light as possible – and you are the retail resource that can help them the most.

Doctors and sleep experts agree that adequate sleep is just as important as eating healthy and exercising. We spend up to one-third of our lives asleep, as you certainly explain to customers considering a new bed, but according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 35% of U.S. adults take less than seven hours of sleep during a typical 24-hour period.

Looking ahead to the High Point Market next month we have to marvel at the unique creativity required to succeed in the home furnishings business – both artistically and entrepreneurially.

For many consumers purchasing furniture requires no small chunk of change, and since people always need beds, recliners, couches, and entertainment centers, you usually have to compete on price and promote interest-free or nothing-down financing.