Exclusive Consumer Insights Now research, sponsored by Bread Financial, hints at ways retailers could make…
Read More →
How Lighting Showrooms Could Reach Gen Z
Exclusive Consumer Insights Now research, sponsored by Bread Financial, hints at ways retailers could make inroads with the youngest generation of shoppers. (Spoiler alert: Step up your testimonial game.)
By Julie A. Palm
Price conscious as they are overall, four out of 10 Generation Z consumers are willing to pay more for quality home furnishings. That’s especially true among those who are older, own homes, are married and have excellent or good credit scores. In other words, the more financially stable segments of the generation.
That’s one of the findings from the latest round of Consumer Insights Now research — and it may be an opening for lighting showrooms to woo this segment of the generation, especially in the coming years as their financial footing improves.
This fall, Consumer Insights Now is diving deeply into Generation Z’s feelings about their finances and homeownership, their plans for purchasing home furnishings, their shopping preferences and habits, and more. (CIN surveyed only Gen Z adults ages 18-29; the youngest of Gen Z are age 14)
CIN research is conducted twice a year on behalf of Lighting News Now and its sister publications Home News Now, Casual News Now, Design News Now and Bedding News Now. This fall’s round of research is sponsored by Bread Financial.
Opportunities for lighting showrooms
As I noted in an article a couple of weeks ago, Gen Z consumers consider themselves omnichannel shoppers who say they like to shop in-store. Yet they make three out of every 10 home furnishings purchases on Amazon — and bought 26% of their lamps there. They like the convenience and the selection, and they see it as a trusted retailer. But mostly they think Amazon is affordable, offering lower prices than competitors.
But if we look at what Gen Z shoppers prioritize when they shop, lighting showrooms could gain some of Gen Z’s business, especially as more move into larger and better housing, including buying their first homes.
A third of Gen Z consumers want free delivery. For in-store sales, that’s not as much of an issue. For lighting showrooms that operate e-commerce sites, free shipping should be standard operating procedure at this point.
Another third of Gen Z shoppers say they value positive ratings and reviews when purchasing home furnishings. Don’t have customer testimonials on your website? You should. (Take a look at online mattress sellers. They’re good at this.) Work with your vendors to sprinkle their brand testimonials onto your product pages. Use positive ratings and reviews for social media posts. And encourage your customers to leave positive Google reviews you can draw from — and that consumers will see as they do online research.
An area of challenge
Overall, lamps are down on the list of products that Gen Z is interested in paying more for right now — No. 9 on a list of 10 home furnishings categories, just above outdoor furniture but far below sofas and mattresses. (Given that only two out of 10 Gen Z own a home, the CIN research inquired about lamps rather than lighting fixtures.)
And when asked which home furnishings categories they will prioritize when they do have more money to invest in higher quality furnishings, lamps moved up only one spot, ahead of rugs and outdoor furniture.
For now, that probably means lighting retailers need to focus on price and more affordable options for this generation.
But there’s also an opportunity for lighting brands and retailers to show Gen Z consumers the value of higher-priced, higher-quality lighting. One idea: Emphasizing innovations like cordless, rechargeable lamps as investments they can hold onto as they move from apartment to starter-home to larger house.
A couple of other findings I found interesting from the latest round of research:
• This generation isn’t swayed by sustainability when it comes to buying home furnishings. Only 16% say products made through sustainable methods are important to them; only 14% seek products made of sustainable materials and only 10% think it’s important that retailers operate eco-friendly stores. Consumers sometimes associate more sustainable products with higher costs, and I wonder if these findings are influenced by this generation feeling squeezed financially. Will Gen Z consumers become more interested in eco-friendly options when their financial footing feels firmer, or will this current pattern hold? The survey provides some evidence of the former: the Gen Z shoppers most interested in sustainability have incomes above $100,000 a year and define themselves as people who buy based on quality rather than price.
• For a generation that grew up with influencers, only one-third of Gen Z shoppers say that celebrities designing and making furniture makes them more interested in purchasing those lines. Fully half say celebrity-furniture partnerships don’t persuade them to buy. Perhaps unexpectedly, the Gen Z consumers who are more influenced by celebrity partnerships include those who are older, live in a house, are male, are married and have children.
About the research
This fall’s CIN research surveyed 1,000 adult Generation Z consumers (ages 18-29) who have purchased – or plan to purchase – home furnishings in 2026. The survey was fielded in August.
Veteran consumer researcher Dana French conducts the CIN surveys, and compiles and analyzes the results.
The fall CIN research is sponsored by Bread Financial.
Related articles