Ashley Franchisees DSG and TDG had a vision to radically improve customer happiness and operational efficiency. They needed a solution that automates and integrates customer-centric engagements with sales, customer care & delivery, in real-time, giving cross-department visibility of all customer touchpoints throughout the entire buyer journey

In this webinar, Norman Alegria, Director of Customer Experience at The Dufresne Group (TDG), and Chris Gustafson, Director of Quality Assurance at Dufresne Spencer Group (DSG) will explain the vision and evaluation process they followed to switch from the industry standard delivery management platform to package.ai. how by implementing Package.ai, they were able to quickly improve operational efficiency and increase customer happiness: 42% reduction in no-at-home failed deliveries, 85% increase in self-service delivery confirmations, and 45% customer feedback response rates with super positive scores.

Click here to watch the webinar.

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NEW YORK CITY – In its webinar this week on “The Future of Home 2022,” insight and trend forecasting company Fashion Snoops discussed the top 10 trends consumers are expected to have for the year ahead.

In the discussion led by Jaye Mize, vice president of Home + Lifestyle and vice president of creative for Fashion Snoops, and Aurora Hinz, Home + Lifestyle strategist, these are the top 10 consumer trends predicted to take 2022 by storm:

1. Wellness Real Estate: Wellness real estate refers to residences that are intentionally designed and built to support the holistic health of its inhabitants. The notion that people should treat their homes as a long-term investment in their well being is gaining traction. The ideals of sustainability and holistic approaches such as Cylindrical Living continue to add to this trend.
2. Bedroom Wellness: Consumers are leaning toward creating sanctuaries in the home, especially in the bedroom. Investing in premium mattresses, toxin free textiles, aromatherapy devices and other small tech that encourages wellness will rise in popularity as the year progresses.
3. Spa at Home: Creating an in-home spa is becoming important to consumers as they begin to put more focus into bathrooms and outdoor spaces, some of the most-used areas for self-care. This can mean replacing sterile white motifs with warm colors and wood grains, adding more biophilia to the room, or integrating sky lights and other large windows into the space.
4. Waste Revival: Circular design is shorthand for including principles of the circular economy at every stage of design, which looks at the interconnected way we extract, build, use and dispose of things. Waste revival is about processes such as turning wearable fashion into new home goods, making use of salvaged finds, repurposing food waste for home décor, 3D printing integration and much more.
5. Ocean Worship: Waves and other sea inspired materials, such as seashells and seaweed, are being used to spruce up consumer spaces. This ocean trend also circles back to the importance of sustainability. Sustainable production and living habits such as seaweed manufacturing, kelp farming and floating infrastructure will continue to rise in importance.
6. Flex-stability: Although, people still want to travel and do not want to feel sequestered after long periods of stay-at-home orders, they are using tactile, visual and olfactory design of a space to create the idea of travel in their homes. Furniture that easily adapts will be in higher demand as consumers look for those multipurpose and easy to move items.
7. Age of Nostalgia: During times of unrest, it is common for people to crave nostalgia and cling to what feels normal and safe. Celebrated heritage, historical themes, domestic crafts, collectables and second-hand furniture is expected to be very prominent in homes this year.
8. Reinventing Traditions to fit contemporary needs has brought stylish takes on historical rituals and global heritages, as consumers want to see products that are accessible to everyone regardless of socioeconomic status. Designing low-income products with similar design principles as luxury products emphasizes equity through design.
9. Metaverse Reality is where the digital and the physical overlap. One way businesses can meet this consumer need as the world transitions from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 is to invest in metaverse real estate and build meta-stores and meta-offices. Another popular investment avenue of the metaverse has been non-fungible tokens (NFTs), used to buy and sell designs, art, furniture and more.
10. Create, Play, Work: The merging of public and private lives has created a demand for adaptive designs that transition between people’s private and public functions. Multi-faceted places that can be used for socializing, online school and work are essential to the home. Consumers are looking for all encompassing environments, adaptable designs and technology infusions in their homes.

To learn more about Fashion Snoops and its trend predictions for 2022, visit its website.

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HIGH POINT — Cymax Group CEO Rizwan Somji and Furniture Today Group Publisher Kara Dunlay chat about everything from how to reset a company culture in the middle of a pandemic, to his vision for a completely democratized ecosystem of eCommerce tech and services that level the playing field for merchants of all sizes.

Since 2004, Cymax has been building transformational eCommerce experiences for merchants and consumers, from design to delivery. Once again, the company is setting its sights on breaking down the barriers to success in an increasingly complex and competitive space.

RELATED WEBINAR: Watch Cymax Group’s recent webinar titled “Marketplace Masterclass: How Lilola Home grew marketplace sales by 1597%.” Click here to register.

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HIGH POINT — Furniture Today‘s webinar series includes retailers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, business experts and others who will share advice for making the most of the year. Join editors Bill McLoughlin, Powell Slaughter, Thomas Russell, Sheila Long O’Mara and Anne Flynn Wear as they engage on a range of topics.

Each webinar will be available on-demand after it takes place.

Watch on-demand:
‘Omni-tech’: How technology is smoothing the seams between bricks & clicks
Join Furniture Today Editor in Chief Bill McLoughlin as he sits down with industry thought leaders to discuss the technologies that are helping to integrate e-commerce and store selling strategies and providing consumers with a seamless path to purchase. Brought to you by Cymax. Click here to register.

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HIGH POINT — The Sustainable Furnishings Council has partnered with the American Society of Interior Design Foundation to produce a webinar titled “Why You Should Ask ‘What’s it made of?’” on Thursday, March 18, at noon (EST).

The webinar will focus on harm caused by five classes of chemicals the SFC calls “the hazardous handful.” The list includes volatile organic compounds (VOCs), flame retardants, highly fluorinated stain treatments, antimicrobials and PVC, or vinyl. Participants will learn about the environmental and health impacts and what alternatives to look for.

“The SFC’s “What’s it made of? initiative helps consumers and industry professionals alike avoid overuse of the handful of harmful chemicals that are directly linked to harming life on our planet,” said Susan Inglis, SFC executive director.

The webinar will take place using the virtual GoToWebinar platform as part of the SFC’s Sustainability Essentials series. To register, go online.

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Furniture Today’s editors gather “around the table” via Zoom to share their insights on where the industry is headed in 2021 and what will be the key issues for retailers, manufacturers and suppliers.

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HIGH POINT — In an exclusive Zoomcast interview, Furniture Today Senior Editor Thomas Russell speaks with Mr. Nguyen Quoc Khanh, chairman of the Handicraft & Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City. Nguyen, who is also chairman of luxury furniture manufacturer AA Corp., discusses how the Vietnamese furniture industry has adapted to the massive shift in sourcing that occurred in response to China tariffs. He also discusses Vietnamese manufacturers’ competitive advantages in the marketplace and what this means for U.S. wholesale and retail customers alike. Finally, he shares some thoughts on the outlook for 2021, particularly related to available capacity at the manufacturing level as the world continues to look beyond COVID-19 now that vaccines have become available. Watch now for these and other insights into what continues to make Vietnam a sourcing solution in today’s global marketplace.

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HIGH POINT — COVID-19 confronts retailers and manufacturers with unprecedented logistical challenges. Furniture Today Editor in Chief Bill McLoughlin and Josh DeLay, vice president of business development at J.B. Hunt, recently sat down with a panel of leading retail and manufacturing logistics experts to explore innovative strategies to keep goods flowing and meet changing consumer needs.

The webinar, titled “Keep it Moving: Optimizing Logistics During the Pandemic,” featured panelists Scott Prillaman, vice president case goods operations, Hooker Furniture;  Charlie Workmon, executive vice president, operations, Broad River Retail; and Ward Dingmann, senior vice president of supply chain, Bob’s Discount Furniture. This webinar is brought to you by J.B. Hunt. You can still register to watch this webinar here.

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Exhibiting leadership during a pandemic might look a little different and include actions such as being flexible, promoting confidence and stepping back to look for lessons to learn.

This is according to keynote speaker and author Denise Ryan, who virtually hosted this year’s WithIt -Women in the Home Industry Today – professional conference.

With a theme of “Navigating Leadership,” WithIt, the women’s leadership development network for the home and furnishings industries, took its mission to mentor, teach and encourage those who aspire to grow their leadership abilities to a virtual stage this year due to COVID-19.

Ryan said coping with the pandemic often causes emotions similar to the stages of grief such as shock, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

“Even though we are all going through this, the experience looks different for everyone,” Ryan said. “Some are able to work at home, others have been laid off; some are terrified by the virus and are really struggling and others not so much. Because of different mandates, the experience can vary widely from state-to-state and even city-to-city.”

Ryan said some of the “learnings” shared by WithIt members in the industry include the need to diversify business. Those include possibly changing distribution methods, products or services, markets and perhaps even the company’s business model.

Setting boundaries such as limiting the amount of incoming information about COVID-19 can also be helpful, according to Ryan: “It’s called doom scrolling when you search your social media for everything you can find about the pandemic.”

“Creation is messy so be kind to yourself,” she added. “It’s important not to follow the herd, so be sure to grow and maintain your network for support and advice.”

Business consultant Holland Haiis, who also spoke at the virtual conference, said the power of our connections can help businesses to navigate these challenging times.

“New research shows humans have 7.5 seconds to engage with someone else,” Haiis said. “It’s called the 7-11 principle – during the first seven seconds of meeting someone, we form 11 impressions about them.”

These impressions include whether the person is positive, an expert in their field, trustful, valid, and the amount of education they’ve received.

Haiis said that when we make a successful emotional connection, we end up having people who sell for us.

“When we create trustworthy connections and are able to reach people emotionally, we in turn create loyal, raving fans who reach out to us when they want to re-do their homes,” she added.

The conference also included sessions from Ginna Christensen from GC Collaborative about how to take the lead and Lisa Kahn from Lisa Kahn Designs about the importance of resilience.

The 200 conference attendees were able to join several virtual roundtables and networking sessions and ended the day with a fun social hour on Zoom.

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HIGH POINT — During the COVID-19 pandemic, more people than ever found themselves working from home. They also spent more time dining at home as restaurants limited their service to take-out and catering.

Now that these stay-at-home activities have turned into habits, wood resources and retailers alike are seeing more opportunity to develop, merchandise and sell home office furniture and casual dining. In fact, based on conversations with some key resources, these categories seem to be leading a rebound on the wood side of the business.

In a recent webinar, Tom Russell, Furniture Today senior editor of case goods and global sourcing, discussed these trends with four industry experts: Jeremy Hoff, president of Hooker Furniture Legacy Brands; John Iasiello, senior vice president of strategic planning and business development at Riverside Furniture; Jeff Harris, president and CEO of Furnitureland South; and Kyle Johansen, executive director of merchandising at HOM Furniture.

Missed the webinar? You can still register to watch it here.

Tune in for an informative discussion on how the merchandising and marketing of these two product segments can help not only drive consumers to your stores but also offer them timely and fashion-forward wood furniture solutions for you and your customers.

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