Consumer demand for home office furniture has surged since the new crown pneumonia pandemic. And it doesn’t seem to have begun to abate until now. As more people work from home and more companies adopt remote work, the home office furniture market continues to receive strong consumer interest.
So, what are the characteristics of home office furniture? What is the attitude of the millennial consumer?
Integration of home and office is accelerating
According to Zhang Rui, Sales Director of LINAK (China) in the office sector in Denmark, “From the perspective of global trends, home furniture is increasingly focused on office functions. While office spaces are also more focused on comfort. Office furniture and residential furniture are slowly merging. Many European and American companies are encouraging their employees to work from home by upgrading their desks and introducing ergonomic chairs.” To this end, LINAK Systems has also created a range of products that accommodate this trend.
Aspenhome, a leading manufacturer of home office furniture, adds, “The surge in home office furniture sales has really become a long-term positive trend in this category. We believe that there has been a fundamental change in consumer perceptions and values of the home workspace.”
Let employees work at home
Labor shortages play a role in this demand. Since this is a labor market, one way to attract really good employees is to allow them to work from the comfort of their homes.
Based on the uptick in sales of filing cabinets and similar components, we think people are more focused on the workspace they intend to use over time,” said Mike Harris, president of Hooker Furniture. They are buying office furniture to create a durable and defined workspace that meets their needs and style.”
As a result, the company has stepped up its efforts in product development, saying that new products are more than just designing a desk. Storage cabinets, filing cabinets, cable storage, charging pads and space for multiple computers and monitors are also important.
Neil McKenzie, director of product development, said: “We are optimistic about the future of these products. Many companies are allowing employees to work from home permanently. It’s getting harder and harder to find the right workforce. A company that attracts and retains employees must allow them to work from home, especially those with children.”
Flexibility is essential to adapt to different areas
Another volatile market in office furniture is Mexico, which ranks fourth in exports to the U.S. in 2020 and jumps to third in 2021, up 61 percent to $1.919 billion.
We’re finding that customers want more flexibility, which means furniture that can fit into rooms with more work areas rather than one large dedicated office space,” McKenzie said. ”
Martin Furniture expressed the same sentiment. We offer wood panels and laminates for residential and commercial office furniture,” said Jill Martin, company founder and CEO. Versatility is key, and we produce office furniture for any environment, from home offices to full offices. Their current offerings include sit-stand/stand-up desks, all with power and USB ports. Producing small laminate sit-stand desks that fit anywhere. Bookcases, filing cabinets and desks with pedestals are also popular.”
New furniture assortment: a mix of home and office
Twin Star Home remains committed to a mix of office and home categories. Lisa Cody, senior vice president of marketing, says, “With most consumers suddenly working and studying from home, the spaces in their homes are becoming a mix.” For many, the home office is also the dining room, and the kitchen is also the classroom. ”
Jofran Furniture’s recent foray into home office space has also seen a shift in customer demand for home offices. Each of our collections focuses on providing different styles, compact solutions because working from home changes the layout of the entire house, not just one dedicated room,” says CEO Joff Roy. ”
Century Furniture sees the home office as more than just an “office. The nature of work has changed dramatically with fewer shackles and paper needed to increase productivity,” said Comer Wear, its vice president of marketing. People can work from home on their laptops, tablets and phones. We think that in the future most homes will have a home office space, not necessarily a home office. People are using spare bedrooms or other places where they can put their desks. Therefore, we tend to make more desks to decorate the living room or bedroom.”
“Demand is strong across the board, and desk sales are up dramatically,” Tonke says. “This shows they are not being used in dedicated office spaces. If you have a dedicated office, you don’t need a desk.”
A customized personal touch is increasingly important
This is the age of the anti-big furniture company,” according to Dave Adams, vice president of marketing for BDL, which has long worked in the home office space. Today, consumers who find themselves working partially or permanently from home are abandoning the square corporate image in favor of furniture that expresses their personal style. Sure, they need a workplace full of storage and comfort, but more than ever, they need to express their personalities.
Highland House has also seen an increase in demand for customization. “We have a fair number of customers in this market asking for more tables and chairs with casters,” says President Nathan Copeland. “We primarily produce office chairs, but customers want it to look like a dining chair. Our custom table program allows customers to customize any size table they need. They can choose the veneer and hardware that will enhance their custom business.”
Marietta Wiley, the company’s vice president for product development and marketing, said Parker House remains committed to the category, pointing to a full range of needs. “People want more features, tables with multipurpose storage, lift and move capabilities. In addition, they want more flexibility, height-adjustable tables and more modularity, among other things. Different people have different needs.”
Women are becoming a key consumer group
Parker House, Martin and Vanguard all focus on women,” says Weili, vice president of Parker House, “In the past, we didn’t focus on female customers. But now we’re finding that bookcases are becoming more decorative, and people are paying more attention to the look of the furniture. We’re doing more decorative features and fabrics.”
Aspenhome’s McIntosh adds, “Many women are looking for small, stylish pieces that fit their personal style, and we’re also stepping up our efforts to develop different categories of furniture that fit into a table or bookcase for the living room or bedroom, rather than being out of place.”
Martin Furniture says the furniture must work for mothers who work at the dining room table and now need a permanent workspace to meet the demand.
High-end office furniture is in high demand, especially custom office furniture. Under the Make It Yours program, customers have the freedom to choose different sizes, table and chair legs, materials, finishes and custom finishes. He expects the home office trend to continue for at least another five years. “The trend toward working from home will continue, especially for working women who are balancing childcare with work.”
Millennials: Ready to work from home
Furniture Today Strategic Insights conducted an online survey of 754 nationally representative consumers in June and July 2021 to assess their shopping preferences.
According to the survey, nearly 39% of 20-somethings and 30-somethings have added an office in response to working from home as a result of the epidemic. Less than one-third of Millennials (born 1982-2000) already own a home office. This compares to 54% of Gen Xers (born 1965-1980) and 81% of Baby Boomers (born 1945-1965). Less than 4% of Millennials and Gen Xers have also added an office to accommodate home study.
About 36% of consumers have invested $100 to $499 in a home office and study space. But nearly a quarter of Millennials say they spend between $500 and $999, while 7.5 percent spend more than $2,500. By comparison, nearly 40 percent of Baby Boomers and about 25 percent of Gen Xers spent less than $100.
More than a third of respondents bought a new office chair. More than a quarter chose to buy a desk. In addition, accessories such as bookends, wall charts and lampshades were also very popular. The largest number of windows covering buyers were millennials, formerly baby boomers.
Shopping online or offline?
As for where they shop, about 63% of respondents said they shopped primarily or exclusively online during the epidemic, a rate nearly equal to that of Generation Xers. However, the number of Millennials shopping online has risen to nearly 80%, with more than one-third shopping via the Internet. 56% of Baby Boomers shop primarily or exclusively in brick-and-mortar stores.
Amazon is the leader in online wholesale discount furniture stores, followed by purely online furniture sites such as Wayfair.
Mass merchants such as Target and Walmart performed best, growing about 38 percent as some customers preferred to buy office furniture offline. Then came office and home supply stores, IKEA and other national furniture stores. About one in five shoppers shopped at local furniture stores, while slightly more than 6 percent shopped on local furniture retail websites.
Consumers also do some research before they buy, with 60 percent saying they research what they want to buy. People typically read online reviews, conduct keyword searches and visit the websites of furniture manufacturers and retailers to search for information.
Looking ahead: Trends will continue to gain momentum
The home office furniture majors agree that the home office trend is here to stay.
Edward Audi, president of Stickley, said, “When we realized that working from home could be a long-term phenomenon, we changed our release schedule for new products.”
According to BDI, “Sixty-five percent of people who work from home say they want to keep it that way. That means the demand for home office furniture isn’t going away anytime soon. In fact, it just allows more opportunities for people to develop creative work solutions.”
Manufacturers and retailers are also pleased to see the growing popularity of height-adjustable desks and standing desks. This ergonomic feature is especially important for those who must work eight or more hours a day in a home office.
Martin Furniture also sees growth continuing through 2022, which, while slower than the previous two years, will still show promising double-digit growth.
As an experienced office chair manufacturer, we have a complete line of office chairs as well as gaming chair products. Check our products to see if we have something for your customer’s home office.
Post time: Nov-14-2022
