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Young, single, online furniture shopper

26.10.2022

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

At least one in two people have bought furniture online, with young singles and families being the most likely to make their furniture purchases over the Internet. The most important factors are a comprehensive product description and delivery to the place of use. A representative GfK survey commissioned by Digitec Galaxus shows this and much more.

In Switzerland, more and more people are buying their furniture over the Internet: while only 7 per cent of all furniture sales occurred online in 2017, this figure had already risen to 17 per cent by 2021. Galaxus can also confirm this trend: «With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, our Home & Living business almost doubled compared to the previous year. We were also able to expand further in 2021, growing by almost 40 per cent,» says Nicole Schütz, Leader Category Management Home & Living.

Galaxus wanted to know what people in Germany, Austria and Switzerland think about furniture in online retail. As part of a representative GfK study, more than 2,500 people from the DACH region gave their opinion on online furniture purchasing.

Online shoppers are young singles and families – or are French-speaking

A total of 59 per cent of participants in Switzerland have bought furniture online before. Of these, just under 10 per cent buy their furnishings regularly or exclusively over the Internet. 41 per cent of all participants make their purchases exclusively in furniture stores – over-50s in particular (51 per cent). It seems that people in Switzerland like to look at and test an item onsite – however not always and not with every product.

Among those who’ve purchased home furnishings over the Internet before, there’s no clear divide. However, French-speaking Swiss people are somewhat more online savvy when it comes to furniture shopping than German speakers: 13 per cent order exclusively or predominantly over the Internet. In German-speaking Switzerland, it’s only 8.5 per cent. In addition, one-person households and young families are the trendsetters, while couples and families with teenagers prefer brick-and-mortar stores.

Our German neighbours are one step ahead of us when it comes to buying furniture online: 69 per cent of all participants have already ordered a table, bed or sofa online, with just under 22 per cent of them buying exclusively or regularly on the Internet.

People in Austria, on the other hand, haven’t yet discovered online furniture shopping. Although 52 per cent have purchased home furnishing online before, only 6 per cent said they do so exclusively or regularly.

Comprehensive product info and delivery are crucial

Whether for online or offline shoppers, the most important thing for just under half of Swiss respondents is comprehensive product information. According to the survey, women are more likely to consider pictures, descriptions, measurements and customer reviews to be decisive purchasing criteria. For under-30s in particular (56.3 per cent), comprehensive information is a vital factor in whether or not they’ll buy their next closet online.

Second most important is delivery to the place of use. Especially for those who live in rural areas, delivery to the point of use is more important than for city dwellers.

A similar picture emerges in both Germany and Austria: the majority of participants want a comprehensive product description with pictures, dimensions and customer reviews. Delivery to the point of use is also the second most important factor.

Most online furniture purchases end happily

It’s encouraging to see that almost 60 per cent of Swiss survey participants haven’t yet had an unsatisfactory experience. If an order left a bad aftertaste, the product was mostly either damaged or arrived incomplete (16.9 per cent) or the item didn’t match the online description (16.8 per cent). German-speaking Swiss respondents were more aware of the former problem, while French-speaking Swiss participants experienced more delays or losses in shipping.

North of our national border, only 36.2 per cent had a bad experience. Most often the product was damaged or something was missing from the order. Online furniture shoppers in Austria are also largely satisfied: 60.7 per cent haven’t yet had any negative experiences.

Sustainability becoming increasingly important

When shopping for furniture, 64 per cent of Swiss respondents pay attention to sustainability – be it certified materials and manufacturing, second-hand furniture or regionality. Swiss residents therefore want their furniture to be produced in the most environmentally friendly way possible or, at best, not made from scratch in the first place. Sustainability is especially important to users under 30, and more important to women than men. 36 per cent of respondents don’t pay specific attention to sustainable offers.

Overall, German-speaking Swiss users pay a bit less attention to sustainability than their French-speaking compatriots. In German-speaking Switzerland, more attention is paid to certifications such as FSC or Oeko-Tex, while second-hand furniture is more popular in French-speaking Switzerland. Knowing that a table is made locally is the third most important factor to Swiss participants.

49.2 per cent of all German and 50.9 per cent of all Austrian respondents say they pay attention to sustainability. In Germany, 24.3 per cent are in favour of certified materials. In Austria, on the other hand, respondents care most about locally manufactured products (23.1 per cent).

Have you ever received a green sofa instead of a grey one? Or has everything always gone smoothly? What’s important to you when buying furniture online? Share your experience in the comments!

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Seraina Cadonau

Communications Manager

Seraina.Cadonau@digitecgalaxus.ch

Happy nature and big fan of the mountains.

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