Promotional sales have long been a mainstay of UK furniture retail. Manufacturers flex to fulfil them, retailers set their watches by them, and shoppers expect them, and budget accordingly. But what is the impact of such frequent discounting? Who benefits? And are businesses able to escape the annual cycle? We asked some of our regular contributors for their thoughts …
The retail discounting landscape is constantly changing. While it may have taken a global pandemic to really move mountains, the annual peaks and troughs of consumer spend were evolving long before it, as digital channels, and ever-increasing demand for faster fulfilment, reshaped consumer spending patterns and the promotions designed to match them.
Take November’s example – thanks in part to Black Friday, that month is coming to dominate the winter sales period, encouraging consumers to spend before Christmas, and softening the traditional January peak. And, like it or not, the furniture sector is forced to play along.
Whenever seasonal sales take place, they continue to shape consumer perceptions of the worth and value of a piece of furniture. Why spend today, when you know a sale is just around the corner? Why pay the list price, when there’s likely to be a hefty discount applied? Yes, the sector has been shaped to accommodate such fluctuations – but at what cost?
Furniture News asked our feedback panel to share their thoughts on today’s sales landscape. Are sales a necessary evil, or a great opportunity? How might they be executed differently? What resonates with customers, and how do retailers recoup any losses incurred? Here’s what they had to say …
Brian McCann, MD, DFI Beds: This is something in the industry that makes it so difficult. Being online, we have a huge focus on Black Friday, as these are our busy months. Coming from a finance background, I do set budgets, and have reserves for the sunny days when bed purchases are not front of mind – and I’m working very hard to diversify our product and ensure that the fluctuations of production can become steadier for the business as a whole.
Every summer, we hear the stories of “It’s never been this bad” etc, but you can’t let that affect your mindset. Budgeting and planning is key.
Anthony Joyce, MD, Wolf Components: Sales and promotions are a self-inflicted curse. The question is, how do we break the cycle? It’s probably not possible – but maybe it could be moderated. It creates so many issues, from massive pressure on the manufacturer to deliver increased demand in a short period of time, to the debasing of the product’s value.
Daryl Drylie, ID Agencies: In the past, I think sales were regarded as a great opportunity for everyone in the industry, and there were only a few headline times of year when they featured. The traditional winter sales had queues outside many furniture stores across the UK on Boxing Day, and were a real bonanza for most stores, boosting figures massively.
Nowadays, with the help of huge marketing budgets, the bigger players across the UK advertise several ‘sales’, ‘events’ and ‘extravaganzas’ throughout the year, and this activity does pressure the independents to follow suit.
It could be argued that having so many sales has diluted the appetite of the consumer, as they may now feel that another sale is just a few weeks away – whilst on the other hand, there’s not so much pressure on the consumer to buy at certain times, as they know there are various sale periods throughout the year, so they can budget accordingly.
All of my agencies are happy to run promotions and sales support throughout the year. Some are determined by the principal, and others are organised to coincide with the individual retailer’s sale periods. I really don’t know which model works best – maybe a combination of both is ideal – but most sale periods do bring a boost to sales, and my retailer partners definitely appreciate the support given during those tough times.
Sales and promotions are a mainstay of our business and are here to stay, but in running them, there definitely has to be success for everyone, and not one link in the chain should be incurring losses. Organised and costed correctly, I believe that they provide opportunity for everyone to boost sales, increase their turnover and, crucially, their profits.
Phil Gant, PG Agencies: I still think that seasonal sales have value. Not just as a tool to drive up sales, but as a tool to clear old stock or ex-display items. Getting rid of old ranges to make space for new and fresh ones is a decent story to tell. If done sporadically with the aid of social media, you can really have a massive result. Having them at too-regular intervals throughout the year can only dilute your potential figures outside of the sale periods.
Phil Pond, client business strategist, Scarlet Opus: It’s an odd thing, but talk of sales, discussions and strong opinions about them are never driven by the consumer. So who are they started by? Who has the expectation, drives the expectation, heightens the expectation of and for sales?
The consumer is, first and foremost, wanting great value for money, no matter the market level. Maybe sales are an industry’s self-fulfilling prophecy?
This article featured in April's issue.
