Wall Decor
The proverbial spot on the wall may be worth $5.94 billion this year
By Dana French -- Home Accents Today, 8/1/2005
Home Accent Today's exclusive 2004 Universe Study (published December 2004) reported the wall decor category accounted for 9% of the 2004 home accent universe and garnered $5.75 billion in retail sales. Wall decor is projected to grow 3.4% this year, reaching $5.94 billion.
Framed prints, framed mirrors and art on canvas are the three most frequently purchased wall decor products, according to Home Accent Today's exclusive Consumer Buying Trends Survey.
Framed prints and mirrors are planned purchases for more than three-fifths of households, while art on canvas is a planned purchase for about half of households. Households planning their purchase of framed prints or art on canvas spend about twice as much as those buying on impulse. Households spend essentially the same amount on framed mirrors, regardless of whether they plan to buy ahead of time or buy on impulse.
Style and appearance, overall quality, price, color and durability are the primary considerations when consumers choose wall decor. There are minor differences among buyers of art on canvas, framed prints and mirrors. Art on canvas buyers are more influenced by a product's style and appearance, as well as the overall quality of the piece. Framed mirror buyers are more influenced by price and framed print buyers are more influenced by a product's durability.
Where households buy wall decorThe home accent/gift store channel is the No. 1 place households buy framed prints and is tied with lifestyle stores as the top channel for art on canvas purchases. One-fifth of households buying a framed print purchased one at a home accent/gift store. Even better news for home accent/gift stores — 87% of households that shopped for a framed print at a home accent/gift store actually bought one there, giving the channel the highest close ratio for framed prints.
Lifestyle stores, including Crate & Barrel, Ikea, Kirkland's and Pottery Barn, are also important players within the wall decor segment. The channel is tied with home accent/gift stores as No. 1 for art on canvas and is No. 2 for framed prints and mirrors. Lifestyle store's close ratio is extremely high for art on canvas — 96 out of every 100 households that shopped for art on canvas at a lifestyle store bought it there. The channel's close ratio is fairly low however for framed prints and framed mirrors at 52% and 58% respectively.
Discount department stores are also significant within the wall decor market. The channel is No. 1 for framed mirrors and No. 3 for framed prints and art on canvas. Several years ago, Minneapolis-based Target increased its wall art offerings and raised the bar for all discounters. Target offers a wide assortment of framed mirrors, as well as Monet, Picasso and Renoir reproductions and framed pop art pieces.
The wall decor consumerHousehold incomes for consumers buying framed prints are evenly split among income brackets — 31% of buyers have incomes under $40,000; 35% have incomes between $40,000 and $74,999; and 34% have incomes of $75,000 or more. Income is slightly skewed toward the lower end for households buying framed mirrors and leans toward the higher end for households buying art on canvas.
Baby boomers, currently between the ages of 41 and 59, are the biggest buyers of wall decor. They comprise 45% of all households buying framed prints, 48% of households buying framed mirrors and 43% of households buying art on canvas. Boomers spend a median of $50 for a framed print, $30 for a framed mirror and $88 on art on canvas.
Book-ending the Boomers, members of Generation X and the Happy Days Generation each account for about one-fifth of households buying framed prints, mirrors and art on canvas. Gen X, currently between the ages of 30 and 40, spends about the same as Boomers for prints and mirrors, a median of $48 on a framed print $30 on a framed mirror and slightly less, a median of $72 on art on canvas. Members of the Happy Days Generation, currently between the ages of 60 and 69, reach deeper into their pockets when buying wall decor. They spend a median of $95 on a framed print, a median of $78 for a framed mirror and a median of $350 for art on canvas.
Wall decor buyers are web savvy — 80% of households buying framed prints have Internet access, as do 75% of households buying framed mirrors and 86% of households buying art on canvas.
Wall decor budgetsThe amounts spent on framed prints run the gamut. While 25% of households spend under $30, 41% spend $100 or more and 14% spend $300 or more. Budgets are considerably lower for framed mirrors — 35% of households spend under $30 and 56% spend under $50. Only 23% spend $100 or more on a framed mirror, with 8% spending $300 or more. Spending for art on canvas is significantly higher than for either framed prints or mirrors. Only 20% spend under $50, with 64% spending $100 or more, 42% spending $200 or more and 23% spending $400 or more.
Home Accent Today's exclusive Consumer Buying Trends survey also asked households how much they would pay for a wall decor product with the "lowest acceptable quality" and the amount they were willing to spend on a piece that is exactly what they've been searching for. With framed prints, 53% of households expect a print with the lowest acceptable quality to cost under $50. Only 7% think the lowest acceptable quality will cost $200 or more. However, 53% say they'd pay $100 or more for the "perfect" print and 26% are willing to pay $300 or more if the print is "perfect."
With art on canvas, only 15% say the lowest acceptable quality piece will cost $200 or more, but 48% will pay that much for just the right one.
| BY HOUSEHOLD INCOME | framed prints | framed mirrors | art on canvas |
| under $30,000 | 20% | 24% | 14% |
| $30,000 to $49,999 | 21% | 20% | 18% |
| $50,000 to $74,999 | 25% | 23% | 24% |
| $75,000 to $99,999 | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| $100,000 or more | 16% | 14% | 27% |
| BY GENERATION | |||
| Generation Y born 1976–1985 | 3% | 4% | 6% |
| Generation X born 1965–1975 | 21% | 20% | 23% |
| Younger Baby Boomers born 1956–1964 | 21% | 16% | 15% |
| Older Baby Boomers born 1946–1955 | 24% | 32% | 28% |
| Happy Days Generation born 1936–1945 | 23% | 20% | 20% |
| Senior Seniors born 1935 or before | 8% | 8% | 8% |
| BY HOME OWNERSHIP | |||
| own or are buying | 88% | 83% | 77% |
| rent | 11% | 16% | 20% |
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