LIPSTICK EFFECT: The time for decorative accessories is now more than ever

Will lipstick effect affect the furniture industry? First off, what is the lipstick effect?

The lipstick effect can be defined as: During a recession, the tendency for consumers to purchase small, comforting items such as lipstick rather than large luxury items.

The current economic turbulence prompts behavioral changes, and that changes perceptions of furniture.

As mentioned, promoting big tickets in this economy — case goods and upholstery — may the equivalent of mercantile obituaries. It can be a misallocation of precious resources.

For people fearing their economic futures, they will avoid big-ticket purchases. In response, smart, proactive retailers promote living better with decorative accessories.

The succession of small changes leads to big results. This is the lipstick effect bridging the gap, and creating a vital and prosperous mercantile loyalty.

Stressing accessories is a prudent investment, likely to return future business when the economy turns and big-ticket sales can be justified.

Help indulge people’s desire for better living with decorative accessories. If not putting lipstick on the pig of big tickets is, well, still a pig to be slaughtered by the economy.