As consumers expand their outdoor living spaces, the opportunity grows for the home furnishings industry to bring its design aesthetics outside as well.
Developing outdoor furnishings, however, requires materials and processes that can stand up to ever-changing weather conditions. Many consumers are also looking for indoor/outdoor design, so this category comes with extra attention to performance details.
Changing weather patterns can also affect the retail buying season, in some cases creating extended or year-round opportunities for selling outdoor furniture and accessories.
Fortunoff Backyard Store has 30 retail showrooms from Connecticut through northern Virginia on the East Coast, while its sister company, Chair King Backyard Store, operates 22 locations throughout Texas, covering a range of climates and seasonal peaks for outdoor living.
While different regions can have markedly different weather, for Fortunoff and Chair King, peak selling season still tends to span the spring through the early summer months, such as April, May and June, said Vice President and General Manager Edwin Pinedo. Interest in updating outdoor spaces tends to correlate with the first warm days of the season. This year, Texas-based locations started seeing early interest in what was one of the warmest Februarys on record. In the tristate area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, however, where February brought snow and cold, the start of the outdoor selling season got a later start. “You can’t deliver outdoor furniture with snow on the ground,” Pinedo joked.
“Weather has a great impact,” Fortunoff Buyer Eleanor Palumbo added. “If the season starts out warm, our season starts out very strong.” After a cold winter though, at the first hint of warmer weather, she continued, “the market explodes.”
One change in sales Fortunoff has noticed is a longer backend to the outdoor buying season. As warmer weather tends to linger later into fall in the Northeast, Fortunoff has seen an extended selling season past its typical August/September and into October. In Texas, consumers buy for outdoor spaces all year.
Supplier Outdoor Timetables
Longer warm seasons aren’t the only factor driving outdoor furnishings growth. Since 2020, consumers have been investing in their spaces, creating new opportunities. Covered outdoor spaces, for example, have been a boon for such suppliers as Modern Forms, a division of the WAC Lighting Group. The company recently upgraded all of its ceiling fans to wet-rated for indoor/outdoor use. Alexander Ostrovsky, executive director, sales and product development for Modern Forms and WAC Smart Fans, said: “As soon as the weather starts to turn, demand picks up — especially for fans. It aligns pretty closely with when consumers start thinking about using their outdoor spaces again.” He added that warmer winters and early springs can pull demand forward, but most retailers still buy around set planning cycles. “That said, in warmer regions, we’re seeing a more year-round mindset,” Ostrovsky added.
For accessories companies like Jamie Young and Napa Home & Garden, outdoor furnishings have become a year-round selling opportunity as well. “There’s no question, people are living more outdoors. Weather has made that more of a real thing every year,” said Jamie Young, founder and president of Jamie Young Company. Since entering the outdoor category a decade ago with a curated collection of garden stools, the company has grown this category with accent tables and seating. In 2027, Jamie Young will likely introduce a curated outdoor furniture and lighting collection. “We find that people want these accessories all year around and they’ve become some of the best-selling collections we have,” Young shared. “Our pieces are versatile and can go indoors or outdoors.”
Napa Home & Garden has expanded its outdoor offering from the garden vessels the company is known for to outdoor electric and solar lanterns this year. Keri Durkin Caune, vice president of sales & marketing, sees growing opportunities in outdoor furnishings, as consumers want pieces designed for indoors or out, especially in climates that allow for multi-season outdoor living.
Material Matters
With longer outdoor seasons and more unpredictable weather, retailers and suppliers focus on furnishings constructed to stand up to the elements.
“We focus on things like corrosion-resistant finishes, wet-rated construction, sealed LED components and more efficient motors. Products are being designed to handle a wider range of environments, including humidity, salt air and temperature swings,” Ostrovsky said. “Different markets have different needs, and we adjust finishes, ratings and performance to match how those spaces are being used.”
At Napa Home & Garden, outdoor products are also designed for harsh weather. “Our outdoor garden pots are designed to withstand sub-zero temperatures,” Caune noted. And the newly launched outdoor lanterns go through a powder coating process with a UV component designed to withstand weather, she added.
Focusing on the organic design that many of its customers look for, Jamie Young looks for materials that are beautiful, durable and weather-resistant, such as reinforced fiberglass, ceramic and concrete. “All of our outdoor pieces can go in the shower,” Young said. As the company expands its outdoor offerings, it will continue to focus on durability.
At Fortunoff and Chair King Backyard Stores, polymer furniture and accessories have experienced rapid growth. “Polymer is heavy and indestructible and has longer warranties,” Palumbo noted.
“The weight is important,” Pinedo added. “It gives customers peace of mind.”
These companies are also paying attention to how consumers are using their outdoor spaces. Fortunoff and Chair King, for example, are adding entertaining and lighting products to their outdoor mix.
Beyond performance, style is important in this conversation. Color, pattern and design are still the first things a consumer sees when buying for outdoor spaces. According to Robert Lefleur, director of sales for WAC Group, “outdoor lighting aesthetics should lead the conversation, with performance as a close second,” a sentiment shared by other outdoor furnishings suppliers and retailers, too.
