Carpets and Other Floorcoverings - UK -
The Consumer – Factors Influencing Choice: Carpets
or Hard Flooring
Key points
●
Warmth and comfort
are key factors causing consumers to opt for carpets rather than hard
floorcoverings.
●
Young consumers are
the most likely to believe that carpet is old-fashioned and hard floors are
stylish.
●
Practical issues
such as safety and hygiene are also key factors affecting floorcovering
choices, particularly for families.
This section of
the report examines the results of further research conducted by BMRB on behalf
of Mintel into what consumers like about carpets and other floorcoverings. The
following question was asked:
“Still thinking about carpets and hard flooring, which
of these, if any, do you agree with?”
The response data
are presented in the following sub-sections and in Appendix – Consumer –
Factors Influencing Choice: Carpets or Hard Flooring, analysed by various
demographic breaks and other lifestyle characteristics.
Warm and snug
FIGURE 23: Factors
influencing choice: carpets or hard flooring, September 2008
Base:
986 adults aged 15+
|
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
Carpets help
keep a home warm in winter
|
74
|
|
Carpets in
kitchens/bathrooms are unhygienic
|
53
|
|
I like the
warm, soft feeling of carpet
|
52
|
|
Hard flooring
is easy to keep clean
|
52
|
|
Hard flooring
is more hygienic than carpet
|
48
|
|
Hard floors are
cold to walk on
|
46
|
|
Hard flooring
is stylish
|
31
|
|
Carpets can be
a problem for allergies/asthma in my family
|
27
|
|
Children can
hurt themselves on hard flooring
|
23
|
|
Hard floors
create too much noise
|
23
|
|
Carpet is easy
to keep clean
|
15
|
|
Carpeting is
old-fashioned
|
9
|
|
Carpets remind
me of my childhood
|
6
|
SOURCE:
BMRB/Mintel
Warmth and
comfort are key factors affecting what type of flooring consumers choose for
their homes.
●
Three
quarters of consumers believe that carpets keep homes warm, with those in third
age or retired particularly likely to agree.
Key analysis: This suggests that, given the recent
rises in heating bills experienced in the UK, promoting the warmth aspects of
carpets could be a crucial way to persuade consumers to opt for carpet over
hard flooring, which is seen by many consumers as cold to walk on.
Perhaps carpet manufacturers could work with energy
companies like British Gas, npower or E.ON in their initiatives to help improve
the energy efficiency of consumers’ homes.
●
Manufacturers
of real wood floors need to promote the fact that their products are warmer to
walk on than laminate or tiles.
●
Women
are most likely to say they like the warm, soft feel of carpet.
Key analysis: Velvet ranges such as Brintons’ True
Velvet are therefore likely to be popular with women. Carpet manufacturers
could extend this focus on the feel of carpets by launching ranges with names
like Satin touch or Soft and sumptuous.
A question of image
Very few
consumers agree that carpet is old-fashioned, which suggests that carpet does
not suffer from an image problem.
●
However,
the fact that in addition to over-65s, it is the under-35s that think carpet is
old-fashioned suggests that the carpet industry is failing to engage younger
consumers. This is reinforced by the fact that it is the under-25s who are most
likely to agree that hard flooring is stylish.
●
To
raise the profile of carpet amongst young consumers, manufacturers need to
invest heavily in PR activity.
Key analysis: Young consumers are used to dealing with
brands, so it is crucial that manufacturers market their individual brands
directly to consumers so that they can identify with their products. Perhaps a
fashion or younger home brand could move into this market.
Families look at practicalities
Practical issues
such as safety and hygiene are also key factors affecting consumers’ choice of
flooring.
●
Around
half of consumers think that hard flooring is more hygienic than carpet and is
easy to keep clean, with families most likely to believe this. A further
quarter of consumers consider carpets to be a problem in terms of allergies.
Key analysis: Carpet manufacturers have introduced
products such as Cormar Carpet’s Primo ranges, which contain
polypropylene-based fibre which makes carpets dirt- and stain-resistant, as
well as bleach-cleanable. However, manufacturers need to do more to promote
such products so that consumers consider buying carpet rather than
automatically opting for a hard floor before they even reach the shop.
●
At
the turn of the century carpets received bad press for harbouring dustmites and
making allergies worse. However, more recent research suggests that carpets can
be beneficial to allergy sufferers as it traps dust in one place rather than
letting it blow around the room. Manufacturers need to do more to communicate
this message to consumers.
Key analysis: The potential for children to harm
themselves on hard floors is an issue for parents, particularly those with
young children. Hard flooring manufacturers could launch products specifically
to cater for children, for example Forbo Flooring could launch a grip
technology called ‘kidgrip’ to help stop children slipping over.
●
Noise
remains an issue surrounding hard floors for around a quarter of consumers,
particularly women and those in third age or retired. Pergo’s new SoftTech
technology is likely to appeal to these consumers. SoftTech involves a
sound-absorbent layer being placed directly below the laminate, which reduces
sound levels and makes the floor more comfortable to walk on.
