Up from 38 percent two years ago; customers prefer big stores
Prague, Jan 27 (ČTK) — More than one half of Czech customers bought furniture via the Internet last year spending around 16,000 Kč on average, 1,000 Kč less than the year before, according to the Furniture 2014 poll carried out by company Incoma GfK.
“Online shopping is becoming a phenomenon even in the area of furniture and home accessories. More than one half of customers have already bought these goods via the Internet and 20 percent plan to do so in the future,” Pavel Cabal of Income GfK said.
In a similar survey carried out two years ago, 38 percent of customers said they bought furniture online.
Last year, people most frequently bought wardrobes (40 percent), bathroom furniture (39 percent), beds (38 percent), dressers (38 percent), and sofas and armchairs (37 percent).
As regards home accessories, 64 percent of customers bought bed linen, 58 percent lightning and 55 percent kitchen utensils.
Czechs spent an average of roughly 5,500 Kč on home, 1,000 Kč less than a year ago.
The biggest amount of money was spent by people under 39, who bought furniture for 18,600 Kč and home accessories for 6,500 Kč on average.
Three-quarters of customers prefer large specialized stores when buying furniture. The dominant player on the Czech market for both furniture and home accessories is Ikea. Second comes Asko nabytek for furniture and Jysk for home accessories.
“Over 80 percent of respondents usually compare the offers of individual stores, 78 percent of respondents read their catalogues and leaflets and 36 percent of respondents take them as inspiration for purchases,” analyst Zdeněk Skala of Incoma GfK said.
The biggest furniture retailers in CR:
| Company | Turnover in Kč bn (2012) | No. of outlets |
| Ikea | 7.22 | 4 |
| Kika nabytek | 1.83 | 7 |
| Jysk | 1.69 | 69 |
| XLMX obchodni s.r.o. (XXXLutz, Moebelix) | 1.67 | 1 XXXLutz, 8 Moebelix |
| Sconto nabytek | 1.59 | 8 |
| Asko nabytek | 1.34 | 11 |
Source: Incoma Furniture 2014
