Today, customers are not just comparing prices, they are comparing experiences. Especially in furniture and mattress retail, where purchases are emotional, personal, and often long-term, shoppers remember how you made them feel far more than what they paid. Independent merchants have a major advantage. You can deliver a buying experience
Many retail buying journeys begin online through research, browsing, comparison, or early product discovery. Shoppers expect digital guidance before they ever enter a store. They look for clarity, inspiration, and confidence in every interaction. A website often influences a purchase more than any single conversation on the sales floor. A
If you’re in furniture retail or manufacturing, chances are you’re sitting on an incredibly valuable marketing asset — and don’t even know it. I’m talking about 3D product data. These are the CAD files, renderings, and digital models that most manufacturers create during product development — not for marketing, but
The retail customer experience is the shopper’s overall impression of your store and is not just about selling products. It’s also about creating brand experience and positive feelings in your customers. When it comes to merchandising, retailers mainly focus on in-stock positions and sales floor layouts in regard to decision-making.
Mattress and furniture retailers in California and Rhode Island should prepare for upcoming adjustments to the mattress recycling fee, scheduled for early 2026. These changes, announced by the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC), reflect rising labor, transportation, and operational costs associated with responsible mattress disposal and recycling programs. California Fee Increase
As eCommerce grows, online merchandising has become a key element in driving both customer engagement and sales. Far more than just displaying products, it’s about presenting them in a way that appeals to your target audience, leveraging personalization, and guiding shoppers seamlessly through the buying journey. Let’s explore how to
As the 2025 holiday season approaches, consumer optimism is tempered by financial caution. Katapult’s new report, Holiday Spending in 2025: Trends, Tensions & Takeaways, surveyed nearly 3,000 U.S. consumers to understand how shoppers plan to spend this year. Cautious Consumers, Strategic Spending As the 2025 holiday season approaches, 73% of
You don’t need another research firm telling you what happened last quarter. You need a heads-up on what’s coming so you can buy smarter, staff smarter, and market smarter. That’s where Zelman, a Walker & Dunlop company, comes in. Now an HFA Solution Partner, Zelman is bringing its industry-leading housing
Simple, powerful leadership principles that drive performance and engagement on the sales floor and beyond. Whether you’re managing a large retail floor, a regional chain of home furnishings stores, or a small family-owned business, the demands on today’s retail leaders have never been greater. Between staffing challenges, customer expectations, and
Every retail furniture store has that one sales associate—charismatic, confident, and consistently at the top of the leaderboard. Their closing ratio is impressive, their product knowledge is unmatched, and customers often ask for them by name. Naturally, this top performer seems the perfect choice when it’s time to fill a
Furniture warehouses are the backbone of every successful home furnishings retailer. They receive, store, organize, and distribute thousands of products
Walk into any home furnishings showroom, and you can sense how radically the customer journey has shifted. Today’s shoppers no
Most furniture store owners spend decades building their businesses, cultivating vendor relationships, earning lenders’ trust, and developing a loyal customer
Following the Supreme Court ruling invalidating IEEPA tariff rates, President Trump enacted a temporary (150 days) 10% global tariff rate
The home furnishings industry faces significant challenges rooted in the global trade landscape. As American retailers and importers honor stringent
Turn social media engagement into in-store visits. In this webinar, discover how to create content that motivates customers to move from scrolling to shopping. Join
Succession planning is critical to protecting the future of a home furnishings retail business, yet many owners wait too long to start. Whether the transition
MEMBER-ONLY DISCUSSION: Human Resources Connect with fellow HFA member retailers to exchange insights, challenges, and successes in using technology and
