Whether it’s the high rate of current job losses or the desire to sever ties with an unfortunate boss, consumers are looking for work-at-home solutions. Ready for some shocking stats?

The phrase ‘work at home’ is generating, on average 24 million searches per month, while the phrase ‘work from home’ is generating 13.7 million. Just as a point of reference, searches for ‘home improvement’ are around 10 million, and ‘furniture’ around 8 million. 

There’s no doubt more consumers want to, or may need to work from home. The challenge for furniture manufacturers, retailers and home builders is to understand what, exactly, that means. Do consumers want to designate a separate room to work from, or will they section off a portion of another room? work in the kitchen? in the bedroom? 

While sales of conventional filing cabinets are down, sales of portable laptops are way up. For many, big home office set-ups are less appealing than compact work areas, better access to electrical outlets for re-charging portable electronics, and a more efficient set-up of computer components.

What’s also needed is more efficient furniture that allows consumers to work anywhere in their home… whether on their sofa, in a chair, from their bed or from a small writing desk in the bedroom.

It’s not easy to know where the ‘work at home’ trend is going, but it’s hard to deny it’s a big area of interest to consumers!

Based on a recent survey of 400 consumers by Home Furnishing Business magazine, here’s the type of home furnishings consumers want most:

64% said an entertainment center / TV stand

53%  said a sofa

47%  said an upholstered chair

41% said bedding (mattress/boxspring)

36% - said a bed

22% - said a dinette set

21% - said other bedroom furniture

17% - said outdoor/casual furniture

17% - said a dining set

9% - said an occasional table

5% - said a desk/home office

3% - said home accessories

Interesting to note:

* the preference for new entertainment centers is being driven both by the popularity (and growing affordability) of flat-screen TVs, and the mandatory switch from analog to digital technology in Feb, 2009

* the preference for upholstered chairs appears driven by a growing ‘eclectic’ approach to upholstery purchases (chairs don’t have to match sofa and loveseat), and by relaxation areas in more areas of the home (living rooms, family rooms, landings, bedrooms, etc).

* beds are considered a separate purchase from a bedroom, and more of a priority (36%) than an entire bedroom (21%)

* outdoor dining room tables/furniture is now on par with indoor dining room furniture

 Source: Home Furnishing Business, Mar 2008

Got a little booklet at the Consumer Electronics Show this month … Mommy, why is there a server in the house?  Part of Microsoft’s publicity on their new Windows Home Server.

Here’s the story in a nutshell. Two young kids are told that “when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much, the daddy wants to give the mommy a special gift. So he buys a ’stay-at-home’ server. He installs it… He does it all by himself“. (Mommy and daughter are shown watching the installation).

But the children are warned that other kids might make fun of them because they have a “stay-at-home server”. They’re quickly reassured that it’s because these kids are “just jealous. Deep down, they wish their daddies would buy them a stay-at-home server, too”

Nice that daddy loves mommy so much, but do only daddies buy electronics? The latest stats show that not only do 60% of women work (ie. earn money), many also want and buy new technology. And in 2007, for the first time, over 50% of women were unmarried and/or divorced, so I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest a few “mommies” (single and married) might also have the resources to buy (and even install) a home server!

Consumers saw more substantial entertainment furniture from top ready-to-assemble retailers in the first six months of this year, according to HomeWorld Business Magazine.

While $99.99 remained the most frequently advertised price point, $149.99 and $249.99 emerged in second and third position, as compared to $59.99 and $129.99 in 2006.

And while advertisements of RTA home office were down 15%, and RTA bedroom down 32.8% for the first six months of 2007, RTA entertainment ad frequency was down only 7.8%

Leading advertisers of RTA entertainment furniture during this period were ShopKo, Best Buy, Fred Meyer, Meijer and Circuit City.

Source: Market Track. For more detailed data on RTA office, entertainment and bedroom retail advertising, see HomeWorld Business Magazine (Sept 10, 2007)

Working from home is still the dream of many… and with home offices that look like this, the impulse won’t be going away anytime soon. A simple table in front of a window, a comfortable chair and plenty of bookshelves are all it takes to get Domino Magazine’s description as ‘pure domestic bliss’.

More “shelf” space than “work” space is common in many of the home office images consumers see today. And with the popularity of retail and online bookstores the past years, it’s no wonder.

 Photo Source: Domino Magazine (Oct ‘07), Nesting

Although the Ready-To-Assemble “office” segment remains the most heavily promoted by RTA retailers (60% of all RTA ads), the category did see a decline in advertising during the first 6 months of 2007, according to HomeWorld Business Magazine. A similar decline was seen in RTA bedroom and entertainment advertising.

* advertisements of office RTA dropped 15% (from 3,697 to 3,139).

* leading advertisers were:

      Office Depot (15.5% of total, down from 21.0% in 2006)

      Office Max (6.9% of total, down from 12.9% in 2006)

      Staples (4.2% of total, up from 3.4% in 2006) 

* the most advertised products were “store branded” or unbranded -  20.8% in 2007, up from 18.3% in 2006 

* $99.99 remained the most advertised price point, however price points $99.99 and above were 21.5% of the total, down  from 44.8% in 2006.

Source: Market Track. More detailed stats on retail RTA office, bedroom and entertainment advertising available in HomeWorld Business Magazine (Sept 10, 2007)

Over 50% of computer sales today are lap tops - making bulky double pedestal desks, returns and hutches less necessary and less desirable for consumers who don’t plan to run a business from home, much less designate an entire room to an office.

In an article entitled I’m looking for a desk, House Beautiful Magazine  (Oct ‘07) featured 21 small, secretary-style desks - from traditional to cottage to modern, from $100 at Target to $4800 at Ralph Lauren Home, plus an invitation to see more selection on their web site. Most of the desks featured little more than  a few pencil drawers.

The freedom to work anywhere is allowing us to place a desk under our favorite window, in a bedroom, living room and in other places where a big desk would never have worked.

Many consumers can’t, or hadn’t ever planned to invest in a full fledged home office. But more of them than ever seem open to desigating a “place” to recharge their laptop, e-mail a friend, pay some bills or keep a stapler and some office supplies.

According to a study by Internet Home Alliance Research Council, Americans over 50: “clearly expect to enjoy their home” … “are selecting features that will help them work and play with ease” … “are choosing upgrades that let them stay fully engaged with friends and family …  and “consider hubs of activity, whether a gourmet kitchen for entertaining, or a home office with broadband or wireless technology ‘essential’”.

* 63% have home offices (70% have broadband Internet access)

* 49% have a ‘gourmet kitchen’

* 10% have home theaters

* 8% have exercise rooms

Latest estimates indicate that 80 million, or 25% of all U.S. residents are aged 50 or older.

Source: Kitchen & Bath News, July 2007