The Truth Behind The Fake Sale

Large chain furniture stores have long been renowned for their huge sales, slashed prices and big discounts. Last year, The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) discovered that sales that offered customers furniture at a hugely knocked down price were simply designed to mislead their customers – allowing them to believe that they were buying a bargain.

By advertising the original price alongside the new, discounted price, suggested to customers that they would be making a huge saving. The OFT discovered that 95% of these supposedly discounted products had never been on sale at the original price and as a result, many big retailers were penalised.

But what do people really think about furniture sales? With the next big sale just around the corner, we put our questions to the nation. If you’re thinking about hitting the sales this Easter, you might be surprised by what our survey revealed.

Quality versus price

When it comes to choosing furniture, there are a number of different things to take into account, from whether the items will complement the décor in your home to knowing the furniture is good quality. In addition, cost also has to be taken into consideration, yet 46% of those in our survey felt that price was the main focus of furniture store advertisements.

Of those who took part in our survey, the majority didn’t feel that large retailers had good quality sales. Most of those taking part in the survey believed that stores that had sales much less frequently were of a better quality and 25% agreed that the best prices for furniture were more likely to be found online.

Being savvy in the Easter sales

Easter is just around the corner and with it comes another huge sale. With consumers now being aware of ‘fake prices’ (known as reference prices), how many feel prepared to challenge the information they are given in-store? According to our survey, 75% admitted that they had never enquired about a reference price on an item of sale furniture.

Surprisingly, just over 47% of Brits have attempted haggling to get a full priced piece of furniture at a discount rate. Furthermore, nearly 85% of those who have tried their hand at haggling have successfully purchased their piece of furniture at a knocked down price. However, when it comes to sale items, just less than 33% have had any success in getting a discount on a sale item.

Research versus impulse buying

The aim of many large sales at chain retail outlets is to encourage customers to make a quick decision, in case they miss out on a bargain. The idea is to drive customers into making a decision on impulse, rather than allowing them the time to shop around.

When it comes to shopping for a good deal and the perfect piece of furniture, how savvy are those who are hitting the sales? Our survey revealed that just over 52% would not shop around if they found a piece of furniture in the sale, fearing that they would miss out on a bargain.

However, many customers are growing steadily savvier in their approach to buying furniture for their home. Our survey revealed that almost half of those taking part did research online, comparing prices and customer reviews on quality before they decided to make a purchase.

In-store experience

Shopping in-store has garnered quite the reputation over the years. In 2011, Mary Portas attacked the attitude of sales assistants in big name sofa retailers. We asked the nation what the worst part of furniture shopping in-store was. 46% agreed that pushy sales assistants hindered their in-store shopping experience, while just over three-quarters admitted that they didn’t trust sales assistants to tell them the truth.

In addition, limited availability of stock, crowded stores and poor parking facilities were all negative aspects of the overall in-store furniture shopping experience.

The truth behind the sales

Rob Walters, Head of eCommerce at The Furniture Market, comments, "The Furniture Market don’t believe in pressurising our customers into buying furniture they don’t want, or cheating them on price, which is why we never have large-scale sales or unbelievable discounts on our products. Our offers or promotions although rare, are always “genuine” such as the time-restricted 5% off voucher code over the Easter period. Although 5% is not as attractive as 50% we are offering 5% off what are already usually a lower prices than those that can be found in the stores and on the websites of major furniture retailers.  We have a 'one price - best price' policy so the price you see is our best offer without the dubious trickery of a 50%+ discount".