To redo or not to redo? A nationwide survey suggests that consumers are not letting fears of recession interfere with their redecoration plans - HomeMarket Trends Supplement

Discount Store News, Nov 5, 1990 by Pete Hisey

To Redo or Not to Redo?

Despite an economy tumbling quickly into a recession, the coming year should be a successful one for home fashions retailers and suppliers. That, in a nutshell, is what consumers told HMT in an exclusive survey conducted by Fairfield Research of Lincoln, Neb.

The bed and bath industries should be the main beneficiaries of consumers' willingness to spend on home furnishings.

Asked which room they would be "likely" to redecorate in the coming year, roughly one-third of consumers queried said that the bathroom was scheduled for some form of decoration. About 36% said the same about the bedroom, the most popular site. Just under 30% plan to redecorate the kitchen/dining room combination, and 27% plan to redecorate the living room.

Geographically speaking, Southerners were the most likely overall to undertake some form of redecoration, particularly in the bed and bath. However, New Englanders were the most likely to redecorate the bedroom (about 41% planned to) and Midwesterners were the most likely to consider redoing both the kitchen and the living room.

The breakout by age is even more telling. More than four out of five consumers under 24 plan to redecorate the bedroom, and more than half of them have plans to redecorate both the living room and the bath. Older consumers were progressively (and predictably) less likely to plan redecoration. Consumers over 65, for instance, were distinctly unlikely to consider it; only a little over 10% had such plans in three of four categories.

Wealth plays a large role in redecoration intentions. While poorer respondents were relatively likely to redecorate the kitchen and the bath, only 15% planned to redecorate the kitchen. Wealthier consumers were the most likely to plan redecoration overall, particularly in the bath and bedroom. They were, however, the least likely to consider redoing the living room.

Overall, minorities were more likely than whites to plan redecoration, most tellingly in the living room and with the distinct exception of the kitchen/dining room, where only 21% planned additions.

Consumers who planned to redecorate the bath were asked several follow-up questions. About one-third of such respondents indicated that the existing color scheme in their bathrooms would be central to their redecoration plans, and about one in eight said that they planned to "change everything." Existing furniture (12%), accessories (9%) and wallpaper (9%) were also deemed important factors.

Not surprisingly, consumers planning to redecorate the bath were most likely to purchase new towels (81%) and bath rugs (73%). However, large numbers also planned to purchase new shower curtains (56%) and, significantly, window treatments (45%). Regionally, Northeastern consumers were most likely to choose all four product categories, with the highest margin over other regions in shower curtains (75%) and window treatments (60%). Residents of the Far West were the next most likely to choose each of the four categories.

Intentions were fairly even across age groups: younger consumers were more likely to need towels than were older consumers, and also slightly less likely to consider shower curtains. Otherwise, all ages were about equally likely to consider all products. The same held true for income levels, with only two statistical blips: wealthy (over $75,000 household income) consumers were much more likely (92%) to purchase new shower curtains than other income groups, but the poorest (under $20,000) were almost as likely (69%).

Preferred colors for bath towels did not vary much demographically. In order, blue, peach, rose/mauve and green were the most preferred. Roughly the same color preferences showed up in the other three categories, but a rather high percentage (roughly one-quarter of respondents) didn't know what color they would purchase in any of the three.

Roughly four of 10 consumers planned to buy embellished products for the bath, with only rugs (23%) scoring below 40%. Strangely, there was a distinct split in buying behavior by income. Wealthy respondents were predictably readier to invest in embellished shower curtains and window treatments (roughly two-thirds of wealthiest consumers preferred embellishments), but the very poorest of respondents were far more likely (50%) than any other income group to prefer embellished towels, while only 20% of the wealthiest did the same.

On average, consumers expected to spend $50 or less on all four product groupings, with only towels showing a meaningful blip above the $50 price point, probably more attributable to quantity contemplated than price per towel. Predictably, wealthier consumers were more likely to spend more.

Consumers contemplating bedroom redecoration were asked the same set of questions. Overwhelmingly, they chose existing furniture and color scheme as the starting points.

Consumers planning bedroom redecoration were most likely to purchase comforters or bedspreads (71%), but sheets and window treatments (60% each) were also popular. Accessories (43%) trailed the pack, because those products (shams, decorative pillows) are much more often impulse purchases than are staples like sheets and comforters.