Luxury Home Consumer Insights Study

Americans spend the largest share of their budgets on housing and other home-related expenditures . 33 percent overall . which is far more than they spend on food (13 percent), clothing (less than 1 percent), transportation (18 percent) or healthcare (6 percent), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey.

Luxury Consumers Are the Best Customers for Home Marketers - They Spend the Most on Their Homes

Further, the affluent households (defined as incomes at the top 20 percent of the economy or starting from $85,000 and above) spend far more than middle or lower-income households on their homes. Out of American.s total expenditures on home, affluent households account for 44 percent of all spending on home furnishings and 37 percent of all spending on housing and shelter.

That means the luxury consumers with a passion for their homes and ample discretionary income represent the most important potential customer for housing and home furnishings marketers.

Unity Marketing Plans to Conduct a Consumer Insights Research Study on Luxury Home

Unity Marketing is undertaking a major new research initiative for a select group of forward-thinking luxury home marketers, retailers and service providers that are eager to find a new path for success in the changing luxury home market.

This research initiative will focus specifically on the needs, desires and passions for their homes, including housing buyers, remodeling and redecorating customers, and furniture and decorative home furnishings buyers.

Luxury home realtors, home builders, contractors and designers, as well as furniture and home furnishings product companies, and furniture and home furnishings retailers, including internet and direct marketers, will benefit from the new insights into the luxury home customers. mindset.

Through consumer research, including focus groups, quantitative surveys and in-home observational research, sponsors will tap into the psychology of people who have a passion for their luxury homes and who spend lavishly on them. The result of the research will be understanding these consumers. drives, motivations and passions in making home decorating decisions and purchases.

The insight gathered will help companies that sponsor this research project to discover new marketing opportunities for their businesses based upon defined consumer desires.

Consumer Insights to Be Discovered

With a focus on consumers, their buying behavior, needs, desires and preferences, this research study will include research data and statistics about:

Luxury Home Market Size and Growth: What is the size of the luxury home market, including the various segments in the luxury home market, including real estate, remodeling, and home furnishings market, including furniture and decorative home furnishings? How is it segmented by type of product and service? How rapidly is it growing? What are future growth trends in the segments in the market?
Demographics of the Luxury Home Market: What are the demographic characteristics of luxury home buyers? What are the key demographic differences found among and between buyers of the different products and service segments (e.g., gender, age, generation, HHI, size, composition, ethnicity/race, education, etc.)?
Buying and Shopping Behavior of Luxury Home Consumers: What are the primary characteristics of the consumers' buying behavior related to luxury home, including real estate, remodeling and decorating services and home furnishings products and services? What kind of shopping experiences do consumers crave and what kind do they disdain? What motivates them to buy luxury home and how can marketers tap these motivators through branding and marketing communications initiatives? Where do luxury home consumers shop for the different types of products and services? What factors influence their decision making? How much do they spend buying each of the products and services segments and across the entire category? What is the role of brand in product and services selection and shopping choices? How do different demographic segments differ in their shopping and buying behavior?
Favorite Home Brands, Stores & Designers: Find out what your company's brand mean to the luxury home customer? A major thrust of the research will be to understand the brand preferences of luxury home customers. What builders, designers, product brands and retailers do they think of for their purchases? How do these competing brands rank in terms of consumer awareness and usage?
Psychographic Profile and Segmentation of the Luxury Home Markets: A psychographic profile of the luxury home customer will be developed in this study. The profiles will identify different types or personalities of consumers of luxury home products and services. These profiles will identify each personality's drives and motivations in purchasing these products and services; what factors are more or less important in driving their purchasing decisions; and how their attitudes and motivations influence what they buy and how much they spend. These insights will help home furnishings product and service marketers and retailers better understand the hearts and minds of their consumers.

The final scope and objectives of the luxury home consumer insight study will be determined by the specific research needs of the companies that sponsor the research.

Research Methodologies

Insights into the home furnishings consumer segments of the market will be gathered using three separate research methodologies:

Focus groups where recent purchases of luxury homes, remodeling services and home furnishing products and services will talk about their purchases, the decision process in making those purchases and how they feel about brands, retailers, product offerings in the category.
Quantitative survey of 1,000 luxury home consumers to discover their buying behavior, spending patterns and validate hypotheses from focus groups.
Observational or ethnographic research where people who have recently redecorated their homes will be observed in their homes and discussing their decorating decisions (Advanced sponsors only, see below).

Observational research will study consumers in their home environments

Observational or ethnographic research will be a special feature of the home furnishings market study. Through the use of direct in-home consumer observations, we will go beyond what consumers say in the focus groups to directly studying them as they show us around their newly decorated home environment and discuss their purchase and decorating decisions. The in-home observations will focus on the consumer in their home environment. Research sponsors including luxury home builders, real estate developers, remodeling and decorating service businesses and home furnishings manufacturers will benefit from this research effort by getting 'up close and personal' with their target customer.

These interactions will be recorded and analyzed with a special emphasis on identifying specific consumer needs and discovering new products and service opportunities based upon those needs. Results of the observational research are only available to Advanced Sponsors.

Sponsorship Opportunities and Deliverables

Forward-thinking luxury home companies are needed to sponsor this in-depth research study. Two levels of research sponsorships are available: Basic and Advanced Research Sponsors.

Basic Research Sponsors - Basic research sponsors will participate in focus groups and the quantitative research study. The deliverables basic sponsors will receive include:

Focus Groups

Participate in guiding and directing the scope of the research study, defining objectives, areas of inquiry and specifying information and insights to pursue.
Participate in focus groups through review of respondent screening criteria and moderator's guide that directs the flow of focus group discussion. This may include preparing one presentation board (about 24" by 36") for discussion in focus groups.
Observe focus groups; receive video copies and transcripts.
In-depth focus group analysis report highlighting major findings from discussion.
Webcast of major findings from focus groups with question and answer period.

Quantitative Survey

Review draft survey questionnaire making suggestions and recommendations, add key brands and 5-6 competitor brands, add key products and services.
Topline results or cross-tabs delivered immediately after survey is conducted which will include answers to all survey questions.
Final in-depth Luxury Home Consumer Insights Report including all major findings from focus groups, quantitative study and psychographic personality analysis.
Webcast presentation of an executive summary of major findings with question and answer period.

Advanced Research Sponsors - Advanced research sponsors will receive all benefits of basic research sponsorship above, including focus groups and quantitative research survey. In addition, they will participate in the observational research phase and have an in-office presentation of the observational research findings and overall major research findings. The deliverables advanced research sponsors will receive include:

Powerpoint presentation of observational research findings, including video clips depicting the home furnishings consumer and their decorating decisions. The focus of the observational research will be to understand the dynamics of the consumers home decorating and furnishing choices and how specific products and services can enhance consumers' satisfaction and pleasure. Advanced research sponsors will gain insights to identify new product and service opportunities linked to consumer and market gaps discovered through the observational research. (Note: Video clips will be suitable for incorporating into the sponsoring company's own presentations.)
Webcast presentation of major findings with advanced sponsor's executive team. (In-office presentation and consultation will be available for an additional fee.)
Detailed review of findings from focus groups, in-home observations and consumer survey.
Discussion and recommendations of sponsor-specific opportunities.

Timing

Unity plans to conduct the research and publish the final report during the first half of 2007.

Basic Research Sponsorship Fee: estimated $5,000 to $7,500

Advanced Research Sponsorship Fee: estimated $15,000 - $20,000

(Sponsorship fees may vary depending upon the total number of research