Reader Survey
Get Your Motors Running
There's a Market for motorization-especially in residential applications-but
you have to make the sale.
by Howard Shingle
When homeowners meet
with an interior designer or a window
| TABLE 1 |
|
How would you describe consumer
interest levels for motorized window treatments:
High: 25%
Average: 50
Low: 25
|
| TABLE 2 |
Approximately what percent of your customers
express interest in motorization options?
Up to 25 percent: 65%
26 to 50 percent: 21
51 to 75 percent: 4
76 to 100 percent: 8 |
| TABLE 3 |
|
Approximately what percent of your total sales
volume include motorization?
Up to 20 percent: 65%
21 to 40 percent: 21
41 to 60 percent: 0
61 to 80 percent: 0
81 to 100 percent: 8
|
Table 4
|
Please rank the reasons consumers purchase
motorized treatments in order of importance. (One being most
important. Shown is percent of highest ranking.)
Ease of operation 55%
Light control 25
Appeal of latest technology 15
Security 0
Maintenance 1
| TABLE 5 |
Which do customers most often
prefer?
Remote controlled systems 90%
Switch-controlled systems 8 |
|
| TABLE 6 |
What sort of motors do you sell?
Battery-operated 48%
Low voltage 29 |
| TABLE 7 |
What percentage of the motorized window treatments
you sell is installed in residential and commercial applications?
Residential 85%
Commercial 4 |
| TABLE 8 |
| On average, what is the value
of the home in which these systems are installed? |
| |
Cordless |
Motorization |
| Under $15,000 |
6%
|
0%
|
| $150,000-$250,00 |
25
|
13
|
| $250,000-$500,000 |
13
|
33
|
| $500,000-$1 million |
8
|
17
|
| Over $1 million |
8
|
17
|
|
| TABLE 9 |
For what residential rooms are motorized
treatments most often sought?
Living rooms 54%
Family rooms 50
Master bedrooms 46
Dining rooms 25
Home offices 25
Bathrooms 17
Children’s rooms 17
Kitchens 8
Lofts 4
WHO ANSWERED OUR SURVEY
We asked our respondents to tell us a little about themselves.
Not all who answered the survey chose to complete this portion,
but implications were evident.
Which category best describes your business?
Interior Designer 50%
Specialty Store 25
Decorating Center 8
Workroom 4
Department Store 0
How many years have you been in the window coverings business?
One to five years 21%
Six to 10 years 0
More than 10 years 75
What is your annual sales volume of window coverings?
To $100,000 25%
$100,000 to $250,000 29
$250,000 to $500,000 4
$500,000 to $1 million 4
More than $1 million 21 |
treatment specialty retailer, chances are about even that they
will be highly interested in purchasing motorized treatments. However,
according to a survey taken among Draperies & Window Coverings’
readers, only about one in four customers expresses his or her interest
in motorized options. That means making the sale rests largely on
the designer or retailer.
We asked our readers in June (see D&WC, June 2002, page 55)
to tell us the trends in their markets for motorized and cordless
lift systems. Our respondents—who work all across the United
States from Baker City, OR, to Miami, FL—overwhelmingly describe
their businesses as interior designers (50 percent of the total
respondents; the next highest category was specialty retailer at
25 percent). They have been in business for more than 10 years (75
percent) and have an annual sales volume of between $100,000 and
$250,000 (28 percent).
When we asked them to rank consumer interest in motorized window
treatments, the responses were split right down the middle (see
Table 1.) When asked approximately what percent of customers express
an interest in motorization options, 86 percent said fewer than
half and most said no more than 25 percent (Table 2).
Correspondingly, most respondents reported less than half of their
total sales volume included motorization, and the largest group
said motorization was no more than 20 percent of their total sales
(Table 3).
EASE OF OPERATION
It comes as little surprise that most homeowners seem interested
in motorization because it makes treatments easier to operate—especially
in hard-to-reach windows. We asked our respondents to rank in order
of importance the reasons consumers purchase motorization and, judging
by the number of highest rankings given, slightly more than half
said “Ease of operation.” Light control also was a major
consideration as was the appeal of having the latest technology
in their homes (Table 4). It was a bit of a surprise that security
received no No. 1 rankings, especially with the availability of
timers to open and close treatments when occupants are away.
Ease of operation could also explain why most respondents said customers
prefer remote-controlled systems (Table 5), and why most motorized
systems sold are battery-operated (Table 6). Hard-wired systems
scored well in this question, and might be expected to do better
as more homebuilders begin accounting for hard-wired systems during
construction.
Hard-wired systems lend themselves to whole-home automation systems
with a central computerized control. For now, however, respondents
overwhelmingly said their customers do not have home automation
systems in place.
WHERE DO THEY GO?
The market for motorized treatments would seem to be homes rather
than commercial applications, based on where our respondents say
their motorized systems are installed (Table 7). Their responses
undoubtedly reflect the nature of their businesses.
A difference between the cordless lift system market and the motorized
treatment market can be seen in the value of homes each type of
system is most often installed (Table 8). Most cordless systems
are installed in homes ranging from $150,000 to $250,000—by
most estimates, the “average” American home. Motorized
systems are most often installed in slightly more expensive homes—those
ranging from $250,000 to $500,000 in value.
Living rooms seem to be the popular choice for motorized window
treatments, followed closely by family rooms and master bedrooms
(Table 9). Certainly, family rooms are expected to be one of the
activity centers of a home and likely the entertainment center as
well—perhaps featuring a home theater system. Controlling all
of the window treatments here at once through a linked motorized
system would be a handy addition.
Master bedrooms, on the other hand, would probably be one of the
more luxurious and private rooms of a home—a place where the
occupants can appreciate remote controlled window coverings.
COMPUTER GLITCH
An important aspect of our survey was to quantify consumer interest
in cordless window treatment lift systems as well as motorized systems.
Unfortunately, a computer glitch garbled the responses to a vital
question (Which do customers ask for most often?) from respondents
who chose to reply via e-mail. The glitch rendered a large portion
of our responses meaningless, making it impossible to determine
a clear answer. There weren’t even any chads to count!
Judging by the hard copy responses, there seems to be clear indication
that consumers most often ask about cordless lift systems. But,
again, because so many responses were lost it would only be an indication.
We’ll have to try that one again in a future issue.
|
WHO ANSWERED OUR SURVEY
|
| We asked our respondents to tell us a little
about themselves. Not all who answered the survey chose to complete
this portion, but implications were evident.
|
Which category best describes your business?
Interior Designer 50%
Specialty Store 25
Decorating Center 8
Workroom 4
Department Store 0 |
How many years have you been in the window
coverings business?
One to five years 21%
Six to 10 years 0
More than 10 years 75 |
What is your annual sales volume of window
coverings?
To $100,000 25%
$100,000 to $250,000 29
$250,000 to $500,000 4
$500,000 to $1 million 4
More than $1 million 21 |
|
