We’ve been closely monitoring Google trends data throughout the pandemic to gauge the level of search interest across key home furnishing product types such as; sofa, bed, chairs and table in order to anticipate trends and changes in consumer search behaviour. Home furnishing, especially businesses with an online presence, has benefited from this turbulent time as people spend increasingly more time at home. A stark contrast to many other sectors, such as the travel industry which we’ve been following closely the last few months.
Our aim is simple: to help you navigate a complex Covid-19 landscape that is in constant flux.
One caveat is that Google Trends data should be seen as a guide and therefore it’s recommended that you validate any trends data with qualitative and quantitative metrics before taking action.
Methodology
- Defined an initial list of searches for each category using Wayfair’s product range
- Used Google Trends API to pull “interest over time” data at scale within the defined category (270 – Home furnishings)
- Visualised summed averaged for each category by week in the “interest over time” graphs
- Analysed rising queries within “related queries” tables from the last 90 days to get a sense of what queries are trending in each category.
Overall
Interest over time (YOY)
This looks at the average Google trends score (0-100) of 100+ keywords related to home furnishings for the past 3 years.
As you can see above (fig 1) demand for home furnishing products is considerably higher than the previous 2 years from week 15 (April) onwards as people are encouraged to stay at home during the lockdown. Despite the prime minister announcing that the UK is past the peak on 30th April, demand for home furnishing has consistently outperformed previous years with no sign that this trend is going away in 2020. This trend is backed up by one of the biggest online furniture retailers, Wayfair announcing a doubling of sales and a 37% surge in shares during March & April.
Winners & Losers (Last 12 months)
This breaks down the top winners and losers across the keyword set for the last twelve months based on how search volumes have changed over that period in percentage.
Winners
| Keywords | Trend (12 months) |
| outdoor dining set | 656 |
| bistro set | 512 |
| picnic rug | 406 |
| outdoor table | 404 |
| garden accessories | 311 |
| outdoor chair | 311 |
| lounger | 260 |
| fire pit | 232 |
| large planter | 175 |
| outdoor bench | 175 |
| cocktail shaker | 174 |
| office chair | 172 |
| serving board | 164 |
| home office set | 133 |
| tea towel set | 129 |
| ottoman bench | 125 |
| serving bowl | 125 |
| soap dispenser | 124 |
| bike stand | 124 |
| wall planter | 124 |
| leaner mirror | 124 |
| pedal bin | 124 |
| desk | 123 |
| bike helmet | 123 |
| planter | 123 |
| plant pot | 122 |
Losers
| Keywords | Trend (12 months) |
| desk tidy | -55 |
| suitcase | -45 |
| lightbulb | -45 |
| bluetooth headphones | -33 |
| alarm clock | -33 |
| file holder | -33 |
| lounge set | -33 |
| vanity chest of drawers | -19 |
| memo board | -19 |
| phone stand | -18 |
| tumbler | -18 |
| coat stand | -18 |
| spotlight | -18 |
| watch | -18 |
| utility | -18 |
| casserole dish | -18 |
| board game | -18 |
| baking dish | -16 |
Looking through the trend scores, there are some interesting findings. The term “outdoor” is featured heavily in the winners. Examples being “Outdoor dining set” and “outdoor bench” but even products not mentioning outdoor have outdoor implied with examples such as “bistro set” and “picnic blanket”.
On the flip side there is no surprise to see “suitcases” high up on the losers list. Office organisation products also don’t appear to be performing well with “desk tidy” and “file folder” down on previous years in terms of search interest. This may somewhat be surprising considering the amount of people who are currently working from home.
We’ve broken down the trends data further for key products: sofa, bed, table and chair. Here’s what we found.
Sofa Breakdown
Interest over time (YOY)
This view slices the full data set to only include keywords containing “sofa”
As you can see above (fig 2) Sofa searches appear to follow a similar pattern to the overall home furnishing category and are performing strongly versus previous years. Searches for sofa-related keywords on average reached 85 in week 39 (Sep 21-27 2020), showing just how strong demand is at the moment and the sales potential for retailers.
Sofa Keyword Trend (Last 12 months)
This is a percentage change in search volume for each individual keyword within this product set order by largest growth.
Winners
| Keywords | Trend (12 months) |
| sofa bed | 50 |
| sofa | 50 |
| sofa with scatter cushions | 50 |
| modular sofa | 49 |
| corner sofa | 49 |
| pet sofa protector | 24 |
| corner sofa bed | 22 |
Looking at the 12 month trend for Sofa keywords it backs up the searches over time with the head term “sofa” seeing a 50% growth. “Corner Sofa” appears to be a popular product with two mentioned in the top 7. An interesting addition is “pet sofa protector” and aligns with the trends of increased pet ownership during lockdown.
Top Rising Queries: “Sofa” (UK, Last 90 Days)
These are rising queries related to “Sofa” within the home furnishing category of Google trends for the last 90 days. The higher the value the sharper the increase in recent searches.
| variable | value |
| snug sofa reviews | 6100 |
| sofa stores near me | 250 |
| two seater recliner sofa | 200 |
| small two seater sofa | 200 |
| made.com sofa bed | 180 |
| next ashford sofa | 180 |
| snug sofa | 160 |
| g plan sofa | 160 |
| joules sofa | 150 |
| tetrad sofa | 150 |
| sofa shops near me | 140 |
| parker knoll sofa | 140 |
| sofa shop | 110 |
| habitat sofa bed | 100 |
| ektorp sofa | 100 |
| blue velvet sofa | 100 |
| best sofa bed | 100 |
| scs sofa beds | 100 |
| velvet sofa bed | 100 |
Looking at the rising queries, the first one that jumps out is “Snug sofa reviews”. On further analysis we discovered that this was a sofa-in-a-box and is being dubbed as the “furniture of the future” and ties into the wider flatpack trend. These are great for people living in flats or small spaces, as well as making moving homes easier when the time comes.
An encouraging sign for brick and mortar businesses is that searches for ‘sofa stores near me” are still rising over the last 90 days – a great sign that people are keen to come in store rather than purchasing online.
Bed Breakdown
Interest over time (YOY)
This view slices the full data set to only include keywords containing “bed”
As you can see in the graph above (fig 3) bed searches follow the same pattern as Sofa, but the gap to previous years isn’t as high and has actually been closed completely in weeks 31 and 36. We have, however, seen a spike in the last week of this report (week 39) but we’ve need to monitor this over the coming weeks to validate this spike.
Bed Keyword Trend (Last 12 months)
This is a percentage change in search volume for each individual keyword within this product set order by largest growth.
Winners
| Keywords | Trend (12 months) |
| metal beds | 50 |
| sofa bed | 50 |
| wooden beds | 50 |
| bedspread | 50 |
| bedsheet | 23 |
| pet bed | 23 |
| upholstered beds | 23 |
| bunk bed | 22 |
| dog bed | 22 |
| bed | 22 |
| bedside table | 22 |
| bedset | 22 |
| day bed | 22 |
| corner sofa bed | 22 |
Within the table we can start to unpick which products are driving this growth. The top performers, all with 50% growth on the previous year, are “sofa bed” which isn’t surprising and featured highly within sofa, “bed spread”, “wooden beds” and “metal beds”.
Another interesting trend which correlates with sofa is “pet bed” and “dog bed” which appear to grow in line with increased demand for dogs.
Top Rising Queries: “Bed” (UK, Last 90 Days)
These are rising queries related to “Bed” within the home furnishing category of Google trends for the last 90 days. The higher the value the sharper the increase in recent searches.
| variable | value |
| bed shops near me | 12950 |
| folding sofa bed | 550 |
| ikea extendable bed | 160 |
| ikea bed sizes | 150 |
| ikea pull out bed | 140 |
| ikea folding bed | 130 |
| bunk bed with sofa | 130 |
| ikea malm single bed | 90 |
| over bed wardrobe | 90 |
| ikea single bed | 80 |
| best sofa bed | 80 |
| sofabed | 80 |
| dunelm sofa bed | 80 |
| ikea loft bed | 80 |
Similar to sofa, the rising queries are seeing a growth in “shops near me” which is great for business with stores. The breakout of this search, however, is a lot steeper than the sofa equivalent which may indicate people are more likely to come to a store to view a bed over a sofa.
“folding” is another term that is growing in the last 90 days alongside “extendable” and “pull out” which indicates that people are increasingly looking for functionable beds for guests or flexible options for small spaces.
Table Breakdown
Interest over time (YOY)
This view slices the full data set to only include keywords containing “Table”
Table searches (fig 4) have seen a strong growth YOY starting in week 15/16 similar to the overall home furnishing trend. Table is also a category that has seen a big spike again in week 39 that needs to be monitored and validated over the coming weeks.
Table Keyword Trend (Last 12 months)
This is a percentage change in search volume for each individual keyword within this product set order by largest growth.
Winners
| Keywords | Trend (12 months) |
| outdoor table | 404 |
| dining table set | 82 |
| tableware | 50 |
| bar table | 50 |
| tray table | 50 |
| dining table | 50 |
| console table | 49 |
| side table | 49 |
| table lamp | 49 |
| dressing table | 49 |
| nest of tables | 49 |
| coffee table | 49 |
| table runner | 23 |
| tablet stand | 22 |
| tablecloth | 22 |
| trestle table | 22 |
| bedside table | 22 |
| tabletop mirror | 19 |
“Outdoor table” appears in the overall winners table with massive growth (404%) over the last 12 months. Other table products that have experienced 50% growth are “dining table”, “bar table”, “tray table” and “tableware”.
Top Rising Queries: “Table” (UK, Last 90 Days)
These are rising queries related to “Table” within the home furnishing category of Google trends for the last 90 days. The higher the value the sharper the increase in recent searches.
| variable | value |
| costco dining table | 170 |
| marble dining table set | 100 |
| battery operated table lamps | 90 |
| dunelm table lamps | 70 |
| ikea table lamps | 70 |
| industrial dining table | 70 |
| industrial coffee table | 70 |
| marble dining table and chairs | 60 |
| dunelm coffee table | 60 |
| modern console table | 60 |
| the range table lamps | 60 |
| cast iron table legs | 60 |
| next table lamps | 60 |
| white side table | 60 |
| glass bedside table | 60 |
| marble console table | 60 |
| gumtree dining table | 60 |
| dfs dining table | 60 |
| marble dining table | 50 |
| narrow console table | 50 |
| small bedside table | 50 |
| small console table | 50 |
| next coffee table | 50 |
The rising queries for “table” over the last 90 days produces some interesting findings. For example, 30% of the queries contain the word “dining” so it would be interesting to hear from suppliers to understand if this is a trend they are also seeing.
Another surprising trend of the last quarter was the use of the word “industrial” with two queries appearing twice in the top 7 results.
“Table lamps” appears to also be a popular search with several mentions, although these appear to be somewhat further down the funnel with several searches being appended with a brand i.e “Ikea table lamps”
Chair Breakdown
Interest over time (YOY)
This view slices the full data set to only include keywords containing “Chair”
As you can above (fig 5) “Chair” appears to be another high performer with significant growth versus previous years with no sign of slowing down.
Chair Keyword Trend (Last 12 months)
This is a percentage change in search volume for each individual keyword within this product set order by largest growth.
Winners
| Keywords | Trend (12 months) |
| outdoor chair | 311 |
| office chair | 172 |
| lounge chair | 83 |
| hanging chair | 83 |
| armchair | 50 |
| swivel chair | 50 |
| high-back chair | 50 |
| dining chair | 49 |
| kids chair | 22 |
| upholstered chair | 21 |
As we’ve seen with tables, “outdoor” appears to be a product category that has seen increased demand in 2020. Chairs has seen solid growth, likely due to the rise in demand for “office chairs”. With more people working from home, the need for a proper chair has increased to avoid back pain and other posture issues. “hanging chair” is an interesting one as it’s considered less of an essential purchase but has proven to be a popular choice over the last 12 months.
Top Rising Queries: “Chair” (UK, Last 90 Days)
These are rising queries related to “Chair” within the home furnishing category of Google trends for the last 90 days. The higher the value the sharper the increase in recent searches.
| variable | value |
| mario gaming chair | 19550 |
| scorpion gaming chair | 16200 |
| vango dune chair | 8850 |
| grey tub chair | 250 |
| floor gaming chair | 200 |
| arm chair covers | 190 |
| scallop chair | 180 |
| leaf chair | 170 |
| the sofa and chair company | 160 |
| office chair covers | 150 |
| tub chair covers | 150 |
| charles eames chair | 140 |
| chair hire | 120 |
| ikea chair bed | 120 |
| ikea junior chair | 110 |
| stressless chair | 110 |
| next sherlock chair | 100 |
| teal chair | 100 |
| ikea leather chair | 100 |
It’s interesting looking at the rising related queries for “chair” in Google Trends as we see a heavy shift to “gaming chairs”. These keywords seem to dominate the top spots over the last 90 days.
“Vango dune chair” scored highly (a foldable camping chair) and aligns with the wider trend within home furnishing. As the cold weather kicks in and people spend less time outdoors we expect this particular product to decrease in search demand.
Finally it was quite interesting to examine the style of chairs that are proving popular at the moment. Honourable mentions for “grey tub”, “scallop” and “leaf chair”, all of which appeared high on the list this quarter.
We hope you’ve found these trends and insights useful, and hope to see you back here next month to find out how these trends play out over time for the travel sector.
If you’d like us to monitor any particular trends for you travel or non-travel get in touch.
