LIVONIA, Mich. – A new study from Valassis, a marketing technology provider, found that offers, deals and promotions drive the selection of a furniture or mattress retailer for 91% of consumers, with that number going even higher for Millennials.

The Awareness-to-Activation study evaluated consumers across all key generational segments and found that one-third of respondents intend to purchase furniture within the year.

“Furniture shoppers conduct extensive online and offline research as they narrow and finalize their limited set of preferred retailers – typically just three or less,” said Chip West, Valassis’ retail vertical marketing director. “With this, it’s important for furniture retailers to appeal to the shopping habits of those in the market, take an omnichannel approach and increase the frequency of their deals. Our data shows that good deals outweigh retailer allegiance.”

Sixty-one percent of those surveyed indicate that receiving an advertisement both in print and digital form can motivate them to shop at a new store or website. In the early research stages, both online and offline messages play an influential role in the decision-making process.

The study also found 59% of those who purchased furniture in the past few years did their initial research on a retail website, but 68% ended up purchasing in-store. Due to the nature of furniture purchases and the interest in physically testing products, the study revealed half of shoppers will complete research in a physical store before buying a product.

Additionally, analysis of completed month-to-month furniture store sales in 2018 showed that consumers are consistently completing purchases throughout the year. While many furniture retailers focus on three-day-weekend holiday sales such as Labor Day, President’s Day and Memorial Day, many consumers experience a variety of reasons to purchase furniture throughout the year. West said this gives retailers a reason to increase the frequency of their offers beyond promotional periods.

The company said this study is part of ongoing research fielded in conjunction with The NPD Group, Inc., a global market research company. The sample was derived via an online survey and all participants were at least 18 years of age and living in the contiguous United States. The specific data included in this report is from research fielded Jan. 28 to March 29, 2019, to 1,745 respondents.