Bridge Millennials Are Home Furnishings Retailers’ Best Customers

As home goods retailers look to grow sales, PYMNTS Intelligence research reveals that they would be well suited to consider the needs of the bridge millennial shopper — older millennials and younger members of Gen X born in the ’80s — given that these are the consumers most likely to purchase furniture and appliances.

By the Numbers

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “The Online Features Driving Consumers to Shop With Brands, Retailers or Marketplaces,” created in collaboration with Adobe and based on a survey of over 3,500 U.S. consumers in October, aimed to explore the factors influencing consumers’ decisions and actions in online shopping.

Supplemental findings from the survey revealed that, when it comes to home furnishings and appliances purchases, bridge millennials lead the charge, with more than 16% having bought or paid for such an item in the last month. This share is greater than any other generation and well above the population-wide average of less than 12%. Bridge millennials were closely followed in this retail category by millennials.

A Deeper Dive

An additional PYMNTS Intelligence survey of more than 2,600 consumers last year revealed that the 53% of consumers strongly or somewhat prefer to make home furnishing product purchases in stores. In contrast, only 25% prefer to do so online.

Furniture retailers are adapting to this demand, focusing on providing immersive in-person experiences. Wayfair, for instance, recently announced the opening of its first large-format physical location.

“Our store is thoughtfully designed to be both inspirational and practical, empowering shoppers to create spaces that are just right for them,” Liza Lefkowski, the furniture retailer’s vice president of merchandising and stores, commented in a statement.

Still, eCommerce is gaining ground, with Amazon seeing its home goods business gain share, having more than doubled the size of its slice of the pie in the last few years alone.