We all want quality good looking furniture in our homes. However, we can all agree that years of use can make furniture look dull and worn out. The cost of replacing such pieces or re-upholstering them can, unfortunately, require some time and financial planning. This is why most people are now turning to furniture coverings.
Home improvement stores are the first port of call for homeowners in need of such essential solutions. Yet, given that they are fairly new in the market, it is understandable that you may be hesitant to stock them in your home improvement store.
Here are some key reasons why furniture coverings are a must-have product for your home improvement store.
Fulfilling Customer Needs
One of the best ways to evaluate whether a product is worth stocking is to consider whether it offers any value or solutions to your customers. This is because usually the more utility or benefits a product offers, the higher its demand among consumers.
Furniture coverings pass this test because they offer a myriad of benefits including:
Protection
Furniture coverings protect furniture against:
- Stains
- Fabric depreciation
- Pet damage
- Fading
The protection improves the longevity of furniture which works to the benefit of homeowners.
Easy Cleaning
It takes hours to clean furniture and it is often not something that most people can do on their own. They thus hire professional cleaners to get the best results which can cost a pretty penny. Frequent cleaning can sometimes also damage some furniture types or be hampered by seasonal conditions.
Using furniture coverings, on the other hand, protects furniture from dirt and reduces the need to clean furniture so often. One can simply:
- Take off the furniture coverings and launder them
- Vacuum and steam-clean the furniture
- Put the furniture coverings back on
Cost-effectiveness
The cost of furniture coverings is fairly low. Better still, it is a one-off purchase that homeowners can enjoy for months or years.
Further, furniture coverings save homeowners money by reducing their furniture cleaning expenses. They, additionally, prolong the longevity of furniture thereby allowing homeowners to enjoy more value for their furniture investment.
Design Versatility
Furniture coverings allow you to transform your home decor frequently with very little effort. For example, you can have orange coverings during Halloween and change them to Christmas-themed ones a few weeks later.
The endless selection of furniture covering fabric colors and prints offers homeowners immense flexibility. It improves their quality of life as well as they get to decorate their homes however and whenever they wish.
Contributing to Sustainability
Most furniture is made using wood, fabric, and other materials. The production process utilizes raw materials and consumes a significant amount of energy.
Providing solutions to your customers, like furniture coverings, that reduce the consumption of raw materials and energy is an eco-friendly business practice. It reduces wasteful consumption where perhaps people with pets or very active households would have to buy new furniture every year.
Expanding Your Customer Base
When most people think of home improvement stores, products like paint, wallpaper, hammers, or tiles come to mind. This is not a bad thing but it can limit your customer base to people with technical skills like contractors or interior designers.
Stocking furniture coverings opens your store up to a market segment that you previously may not have had access to. A wider customer base is likely to improve your sales in general because:
- New customers may be open to exploring and buying the other products you offer.
- You can cross-sell products and boost the sales of furniture coverings and other products.
- A wider customer base often results in higher sales volumes.
Improving Your Brand Image
Most customers enjoy the certainty of knowing that when they visit a particular store, they can find whatever they need and even discover new products. Achieving this gives you the much-coveted brand image of the go-to home improvement store.
More importantly, such efficiency cultivates loyalty too because customers have no solid reason to shop at competing stores.
Keeping up with trending products like furniture coverings and making them available to your customers puts you firmly on the path to achieving such brand status. Moreover, you can phase in such products gradually and see how your customers respond at first then stock larger quantities.
Improving Your Revenue Margins
Profitability is another vital factor to consider before adding any product to your inventory. So, are furniture coverings profitable?
Yes, they are. The secret to it all is finding a quality furniture coverings manufacturer that can offer you fair wholesale prices. It reduces your sourcing costs and gives you leeway to set a profitable retail price.
As we mentioned above, stocking such a customer-friendly product can also widen your customer base and boost your brand image. Both of these effects will also impact your store’s profits positively. It is, therefore, prudent to consider both the direct profit impact and the positive ripple effect you can gain.
Low-Risk Investment
Adding furniture coverings to the product list of your home improvement store is a low-risk investment that could offer you high rewards.
For starters, you can opt to only stock a limited number of coverings to test your market. A good furniture coverings manufacturer will give you a fair minimum order quantity for you to achieve this. If the response is positive, you can go ahead and stock more.
In terms of marketing, furniture coverings are an easy low-risk sale as well. Customers can quickly understand and feel the impact that the product would have on their homes, lives, and pockets. You, therefore, only need to create awareness and keep your messaging relatable.
Conclusion
The pandemic, access to information, and social media have all made consumers conscious of why it is important to maintain a comfortable home space. Shoppers are now also alive to the fact that it does not have to cost a fortune. This is why furniture coverings and similar products are not a fad. Rather, they are likely to become the evergreen products every home improvement store should have.
