Morgan Stanley's Home Furnishing Survey: Overall Healthy Trends Continue, Mixed Results For Retailers

Simeon Gutman of Morgan Stanley released his findings from a Home Furnishing Survey and found that the segment's trends are “healthy.”

According to the findings, overall spending among consumers within the home furnishing segment over the last three months is $134 per shopper. Intention to spend over the next three months was found to be $113 per shopper.

Thirty-four percent of consumers plan on starting their shopping earlier this year.

Below are some of the company specific findings:

• Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE: PIR) was observed to be slightly less promotional and respondents ranked the retailer as the fourth-highest in intent to spend over the next three months. Gutman notes that the findings bodes well for shorter-term investors. The analyst adds that he expects the company to report “healthy” third-quarter comps of at least 4 percent to 5 percent with a “directional improvement” in gross margin.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) saw its market share decline to 15 percent from 16 percent in August. The analyst notes that while this is a marginal drop, market share does have a +0.83 correlation to the company's comps.
• Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) saw its market share within housewares growing although the perception of the company's pricing advantage fell.
• Target Corporation's (NYSE: TGT) perception of its brands, price matching and overall pricing declined.
• Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM) was singled out as an “online winner” with 29 percent of respondents shopping through the retailer online, more than any other Hardline retailer.