Press Release - April 25, 2009
HomeFurnishings.com - “Inspired Home Decorating Made Easy”
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The National Home Furnishings Association (NHFA) is introducing a fresh, new consumer web portal, HomeFurnishings.com. This engaging website is designed to inspire consumers, simplify their furniture shopping process, and connect them with a Certified HomeFurnishings.com Retailer, where they can find the products they want and the service they expect. HomeFurnishings.com is scheduled to go live with a soft launch in October 2009 that features a national online sweepstakes. The official launch date for the program is January 2010, when the complete national media promotion program will begin.
“Research shows that in our fast-paced society consumers do not have the time or energy to shop several retailers to determine what they want and where to buy it; today they begin their shopping online,” stated NHFA chairman, Doug Kays. “Our goal with this new interactive website is to help educate and captivate consumers with meaningful lifestyle content and decorating tools to make her home decorating decisions much easier.”
The HomeFurnishings.com website, targeting women ages 30- 65, will feature a wide range of rich content, including articles with fresh decorating ideas and professional advice from trusted advisors on how to improve their homes. It will be fashionable and stylish with updated trend information, buying guides, design tools, educational videos, e-newsletters, retailer locator and a supplier directory. Trisha McBride Ferguson, editor of HomeFurnishings.com, states this new website will be a “destination to visit and revisit; a portal of tips and ideas on every aspect of decorating and design along with tools and planners where consumers can create a confidential profile and save information for future shopping trips. HomeFurnishings.com will be an enjoyable and timely resource of trustworthy information and time saving inspiration.”
The final step in creating a rewarding shopping experience for the consumer is helping her find a capable, trust-worthy retailer with whom she can work. All of HomeFurnishings.com participating retailers be ascribe to a common set of standards and will earn the “Certified HomeFurnishings.com Retailer” designation. These standards which each participating retailer must meet include: having a “Bricks And Mortar” showroom; offering a written consumer rights and guarantee policies; having a defined dispute resolution process; and having membership in their local Better Business Bureau or Retail Merchant Association. Participants also must be NHFA members. This certification will instill confidence and inspire trust as the consumer develops a long-lasting, working relationship with her retailer.
National Home Furnishings Association (NHFA) is the nation’s largest organization devoted specifically to the needs and interests of home furnishings retailers. NHFA’s membership comprises 2500 business entities representing over 9,000 stores in all 50 states and several foreign countries. NHFA’s mission and vision encompass the association’s commitment to helping home furnishings retailers operate highly profitable businesses that provide an exceptional level of service to the consumers who buy their furniture. The mission of National Home Furnishings Association is to provide its members with the information, education, products and services they need to remain successful. NHFA’s vision is to excel as the definitive resource for information and leadership for home furnishings retailers.
For more information about this program, please contact Karin Mayfield at (800) 888-9590, ext. 6134.