Hearst Home Group—comprised of House Beautiful, Country Living, O At Home, Veranda, Good Housekeeping and Redbook magazines—undertook a comprehensive study earlier this year. The goal was to quantify current decorating and renovating activity in the American home; identify areas of growth in decorating and renovating; explore what consumers are searching for when designing their most lived-in rooms; understand Americans’ current and future design aesthetic; document the buying process for home related products—from inspiration to purchase; and learn about the role of various media in the process.

In so doing, Hearst executives identified a number of marketing opportunities for savvy home furnishings pros. Among the survey’s key findings, “Affluent consumers are in decorating mode,” Hearst Home Group Director Jeanne Noonan Eckholdt told the gathered at a special breakfast presentation for leading home furnishings companies in Greensboro, N.C. earlier this week. “They are generally not satisfied with the most lived-in rooms, so they are ripe for your marketing communications. And, since the survey found that most consumers will pay more if they know an item will last, you should communicate quality and durability whenever, and wherever, possible."

According to Eckholdt, the survey found that “decorating is slightly higher on their agenda than renovating. And, the master bedroom is where the action is, in more ways than one!” In fact, only one in 10 (11 percent) likes their master bedroom as is. Some 42 percent seek new window treatments for the master bedroom of their dreams, while 22 percent are interested in new wall covering. Ninety-four percent want to paint, while 29 percent want better lighting, 32 percent would like new furniture, and 39 percent are interested in new flooring.

“Consumers’ desire for escape from a fast-paced, crazy world has driven them back into the comfort of their master bedrooms,” Eckholdt related. “More than ever, they want to make it a sanctuary from the rest of the world. Help them accomplish this, and you’ll gain a loyal customer.”

The Hearst Home Group study was conducted in two parts—a qualitative online forum and an online quantitative questionnaire—among Hearst Home panel members, a geographically representative group with a median age of 46 and median income of $167,000. Eighty-nine percent of those surveyed were women, 11 percent men, while 94 percent of the panelists are married/living with a significant other, and 82 percent have children. The majority (93 percent) own their primary residence (median value $367,000), and 19 percent also own a second/vacation home.

Some 60 percent of the respondents reported they had decorated or planned to decorate in the past year, while only 32 percent had renovated or planned to renovate. In the next 12 months, 38 percent of those surveyed plan to decorate, while only 19 percent plan to renovate. Interestingly, the survey found that in the coming year, decorating activity in the master bedroom will increase by a whopping 74 percent over last year, while decorating in the family room will increase by 61 percent. Again, fewer than one in 10 like the family room “as is” (6 percent), with new window treatments (39 percent), decorative accessories (35 percent), furniture (46 percent), electronics (40 percent), flooring (34 percent), lighting (41 percent) and paint (86 percent) ranking high on the agenda for the family room of their dreams.

When it comes to furniture, sofas still dominate family room seating, but individual chairs are gaining favor. And, when asked the question, “When is a sofa worth paying 10 percent more?” durability ranked high, with 48 percent choosing “infrequent replacement,” and 46 percent choosing, “wear resistant to high traffic” as their response.

The survey found that decorating activity in the master bath will also increase by 28 percent over last year (only 1 in 8, or 13 percent, likes the master bathroom as is), while decorating in the kitchen will decrease by 5 percent over last year.

Meanwhile, renovation in the next 12 months will increase by 120 percent over last year in the master bedroom; by 35 percent over last year in the master bathroom; by 7 percent in the kitchen over last year, and the family room will remain the same.   

Notably, respondents reported that the majority of their buying for the home takes place in person and that magazines are their most important sources of ideas and inspiration. “They are not buying online,” Eckholdt said. “Most want to see a product before they purchase.” Said one survey respondent: “Retailers could help by simply having things displayed where I can see and inspect them. I don’t want to peer through a box to see an item. I want to touch it, pick it up, look it over carefully.”

Survey respondents also said that “a knowledgeable staff is the most important service a retailer can offer.” Among their verbatim comments: “Retailers could do a much better job in assisting customers by doing a very important thing: training, training, training!”

“Retailers can attract new consumers by helping them with their greatest decorating challenges,” Eckholdt noted. “Hold lighting and color workshops in-store, or have specialists available at retail that can help with these issues. The survey findings also reiterated that consumers decorate over time. To build loyalty, develop longer-term relationship incentives to keep them coming back into stores over a longer period of time. Reach consumers who are always looking by refreshing inventories on a more regular basis—with decorative accessories for example, and tap into consumers’ interest in the mix by always merchandising a mix of price points and styles together. You can also appeal to consumers’ interest in unique items by incorporating limited-edition items or limited collections by designers.”