A new report highlighting consumer behaviour on online marketplaces has revealed an insight into furniture purchases.
The research was commissioned by the Office for Product Safety and Standards from YouGov to understand consumers’ interaction with online marketplaces. Its objectives were to explore how consumers end up purchasing from online marketplaces, and their related opinions, attitudes and behaviours.
Its findings were based on a quantitative survey with a representative sample of 2,073 online marketplace users from across the UK, supported by three focus group discussions, each with 10-12 participants.
Looking specifically at the furniture and homeware takeaways, detailed within the report, 25% of respondents said they purchase furniture at least once every six months, with 6% buying once a month. Furthermore, the age group of 18-29 led at 37% compared to the over 65 at 12%.
Homeware purchases were at 36% once every six months, with 9% buying at least once a month. The age comparison showed that 18-29 was at 46% with over 65 at 20%.
When looking at if the purchases were new or used, 64% said that furniture purchases were new, while 36% were previously owned. As for homeware, the split was 83% new compared to 17% used.
The report looked at the hypothetical factors considered if purchasing different types of products on an online marketplace, with 37% of respondents indicating price competitiveness when purchasing furniture.
Respondents also said that trustworthiness of the platform and delivery speed were considered, with furniture at 32% and 24% respectively. Homeware items also had similar results with 34% on price, 30% on trust and 24% on delivery.
Meanwhile, the importance of knowing the country of origin for furniture purchases came in at 56%, while homeware was at 54%.
In addition, the frequency of browsing furniture products on online marketplaces varied from weekly searches to six months. For example, once or twice a week in furniture browsing was 7%, while the highest score came in at 14% with people browsing between once every two to six months.
The report highlighted other areas of product purchasing scenarios, online safety, influencers and profile of marketplaces used. Find out more here.
