Black Friday has come and gone, and the world was momentarily awash with a deluge of offers and discounts for almost everything from the anything store.
However, the excitement of the annual shopping extravaganza was almost entirely absent in our world of kitchen retail.
Why is that?
Because what we do is different. Very different.
Kitchens arenât impulse buys, bought on a whim or because of an offer. Theyâre big-ticket purchases, bought with thought and consideration.
I spend a lot of time talking to kitchen retailers about how to sell more kitchens, and Iâve been spending plenty of time recently talking to Mrs Barker about buying one. (Yes, still!) So, I write this from the vantage point of recent, personal experience on both sides of the fence.
Buying a kitchen is unique. There are few things quite like it.
Cars are about as close as it gets to an obvious comparable, and we didnât see many âhalf-offâ offers in that industry either!
There are plenty of purchases that are âimpulseâ buys â a snack, a Starbucks, a new pair of trainers or a weekend awayâall spur-of-the-moment decisions.
Buying a kitchen or a car isnât a spur-of-the-moment decision like that. But once someoneâs made a decision to buy, they take action on that decision swiftly.
Some research in the motor industry years ago highlighted that when someone decides to change their car, on average, theyâll be on a forecourt in just three days.
Kitchens are not wildly different from thatâlots of thought followed by rapid action.
The economy also plays an important role in consumer behaviour; the Chancellor might have trimmed some taxes as we move into an election cycle, but the economy isnât booming yet.
During periods of economic fragility, people donât stop investing in their homes. Still, when the economy is weaker, they become more discerning, take even more time and give even more consideration to significant investments. (Surely, one of the hallmarks of 2023!)
Future kitchen buyers wonât have been splashing the cash over Black Friday; theyâll have been reading articles about two-dishwasher kitchens, kitchen islands, Quooker taps and considering how theyâll fund their new kitchen.
Kitchen buyers are always out there; we just donât know who they are until theyâre ready to reveal themselves. All you can do is be visible and ready for them when they turn up.
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If youâre thinking you could do with taking your kitchen sales and marketing to the next level in 2024, contact me at david.barker@inspirekbb.com and letâs arrange a chat.
