Home décor lags behind other categories among online shoppers

NEW YORK — Furniture and décor retailers and suppliers have ample room to grow their online business, based on findings from a recent consumer survey from performance marketing company, Wunderkind.

Among all of the categories that individuals have available to shop for via e-commerce, just 11% listed furniture and décor as one of the three categories they purchase most frequently online. There was little difference among age groups, with Baby Boomers and Millennials (11% each) just slightly outpacing Gen X (10%) and Gen Z (9%) in their desire to purchase home furnishings online.

The category was shopped more frequently among women (12%) than men (8%). But overall, furniture and décor ranked far behind the most popular category of clothing and shoes (60%), and lagged electronics (32%) and beauty (28%) as well.

Instead, it was more in line with items such as gift cards (10%), fragrance (10%) and jewelry/watches (9%).

Most consumers (65%) are shopping for themselves when buying online, the survey found, with the numbers highest among Gen Z (72%), Millennials (67%) and male consumers (69%). At 33%, men are also more likely to increase their online shopping this year vs. 26% of women. By age group, Baby Boomers expect to shop at the same rate, while Gen Z and Millennials plan to step up their online purchasing.

Based on these anticipated behaviors, Wunderkind advises merchants to target male shoppers with more offers and engage younger shoppers in social media-driven campaigns. For the more consistent Boomers and Gen Xers, loyalty programs may be the answer to maintain or even drive business.

The research found more than half of consumers (53%) tended to shop for online non-grocery purchases via marketplaces such as Amazon, Temu and Rakuten, followed by online retail stores (39%). Purchasing directly from a brand’s website or app garnered just 5% and 2% of respondents, respectively. Similarly, marketplaces (48%) and online stores (32%) ranked highest as most trustworthy sources for buying favorite brands, although buying from a brand’s site rose to 16% when trust was factored in.

Just more than one-third of those buying from the brand directly said best price was the most important factor for going that route, followed by free shipping at 17%. While best price was most important among all age groups, including Gen Z (24%), for the youngest cohort shipping ranked behind reviews (18%) and convenience (18%).

By a wide margin, respondents also noted they would be more likely to buy from a brand’s website vs. a marketplace if they received better pricing or exclusive discounts over other perks such as faster delivery, better loyalty rewards or personalized service.

For its survey, Wunderkind partnered with MX8 Labs to gain insights from 526 U.S. consumers in December 2024.