The Name Game, Part II

We think we know best. We are, after all, experts in this furniture category. We know futons. They are our life. We dream in patterns like “Cabana” and in colors like “Seafoam.” Words like “bi-fold,” “flammability” and “component purchase” fall easily from our lips.

We are convinced that the overload of promotional futons at discount stores is dogging the entire futon category. We are sure that the futon image is damaged by price-driven product. We fear that futon furniture is becoming a commodity product. We’re convinced of these things.

But what if we could peek inside the mind of the run-of-the-mill, everyday consumer and learn what they think about futon furniture? We would know exactly what kind of, if any, negative baggage the term “futon” carries. We could figure out just how to label futon furniture in order to raise consumer perceptions. Then, once and for all, we would find out whether futon furniture, given another name, would sell better.

On the other hand, we may find that the term “futon” brings a certain respect and prestige in consumers’ minds. We could find that they are more likely to buy a futon, willing to pay more for it and more likely to put it in their living room than if it is referred to by an alternative name. The shocking news is that this is exactly what we found.

Inside the Consumer Mind

An exclusive Futon Life survey sought to peek inside the minds of over one hundred consumers. Consumers were asked to respond to a photo of a futon sofa in three ways. They were asked about the sofa’s expected price point. They were asked if they would consider buying this type of sofa if they had the need. And they were asked in which room they would most likely put this kind of sofa.

Here’s the hitch. When half of the survey respondents were shown the picture of this mission-style futon sofa, they were told it was a futon. But to the other half, it was presented as a “convertible sofa sleeper.”

We hoped to discover how consumer perception of the “futon” label would affect this sofa’s expected price point and to what degree banish it to the rec room or TV room. On the other hand, would a new name raise its price point and help bring it along into the living room?

Would You Buy This if You Had the Need?

Consumers were questioned about their willingness to buy a futon-type product if they needed a sofa that could also function as a bed. Those who were shown the product as a “futon” were ten percent more likely to report willingness to buy a futon sofa. A full 83 percent of consumers responding to the “futon” label gave a favorable response. However, only 73 percent of those responding to the “convertible sofa sleeper” label showed a willingness to buy this type of sofa.

Consumers on both halves of the survey expressed a number of reasons for their unwillingness to buy, such as concerns regarding quality, lack of product information, and even, “It’s too heavy.” But the most frequently reported reasons for an unwillingness to buy a futon sofa, regardless of which name was tested, were comfort and style.

Comfort and style are familiar, if infrequent, objections to futon furniture and they represent two-thirds of the reasons cited. These consumers reported that they are not willing to consider a futon as a sit-sleep option because “It doesn’t look comfortable” or “I don’t like the futon look.” Some good news: only one consumer out of over a hundred voiced every futon retailer and manufacturer’s worst nightmare: “I don’t like the style. It looks like it belongs in a college dorm room.”

Which Room Would You Put This In?

Consumers in this survey were asked, “In which room would you most likely put this kind of sofa?” Once again, the label given to the futon sofa–futon or convertible sofa sleeper–made a difference in their response. Once again, the answer isn’t what you might think.

When the futon sofa pictured was referred to as a “convertible sofa sleeper,” customers were most likely to envision it in the den. More than half of them assigned the futon sofa to rooms such as den, TV room, rec room, finished basement and family room. Only 18 percent chose a home’s formal living room for futon furniture when it was presented as a convertible sofa sleeper.

However, when the futon sofa pictured was referred to as a “futon,” the percent of customers who thought of it as living room furniture jumped from 18 percent to 28 percent. Correspondingly, those who would place it in the den dropped from 55 percent to 39 percent. Most of the remaining people surveyed envisioned the futon sofa in the bedroom, spare bedroom or guestroom.

How Much Would You Expect to Pay?

The futon sofa chosen for this survey is a solid oak mission style futon frame with an eight-inch innerspring mattress. It retails for $400. Would customers be able to name the correct price point for this futon sofa? Would naming it differently change the price they would expect to pay? For many retailers and manufacturers, this is a pressing and relevant question.

This survey found that customers have very accurate expectations for the retail price of our sample futon. Though they named prices that ranged from $99 to $2,000 regardless of which product name it was given, the average price point named during our survey was $395. The most frequently named prices were $300 (21 percent of respondents), $200 (14 percent of respondents) and $400 (also 14 percent of respondents).

But there was a thirty-dollar difference between the price point consumers named when they were shown the sofa as a “futon” compared to the price point they named when they were shown the sofa with the alternative name. When presented with a sofa as a “futon,” they expected to pay $406. However, when presented with the sofa as a “convertible sofa sleeper,” they expected to pay $386.

The greater acceptance of futon furniture as living room furniture is another bright indication of this survey. It shows that futon furniture is now competing with sofa beds in the minds of many shoppers. This has been a prime objective of many manufacturers, as a way of working toward greater acceptance of the futon category as mainstream furniture and the higher-end product and price points that accompany that acceptance. It appears that advancement towards this objective is occurring. This survey gives a bold indication that the years of hard work that manufacturers and retailers alike have put into improving the product and its perception have paid off.

To answer the question, “What’s in a name?” the answer for futons is, “A lot!” This survey’s bottom line reads: consumers are more likely to buy a futon, pay more for it and put it in their living rooms than if it is referred to by an alternative name.

FL