Home furnishings retailer Dunelm saw online sales increase 111% between June and December as locked-down customers did up their homes and attempted to use their spaces better. This performance was despite stores shutting from November onwards due to lockdown.
Dunelm said that it experienced growth across all categories, with notable increases in crafting products and homewares.
A YouGov poll last month showed that over a quarter of Britons (27%) had spent more money than they usually would have on home improvements and decoration since the pandemic first began, with 8% saying they’d spent much more. Another quarter said they’d spent less (24%) while 44% said they’d spent about the same.
More than a third of 24-49 year olds (35%) and three in ten 18-24 year olds (30%) say they’ve spent more than they would have, compared to just a fifth of 50-65 year olds (23%) and one in six over-65s (15%).
YouGov BrandIndex data shows that Dunelm’s Current Customer scores (whether someone is currently a customer of the brand) for the period of July to December 2020 increased by 1.1 points to 11.4 from the six months prior.
Similarly the brand’s Purchase Intent scores (whether a brand is someone’s first choice to purchase from) increased from 9.5 to 10.9, improving its ranking from seventh to sixth place among other general retail brands in the UK.
Not only has Dunelm reported exceptional sale growth in a challenging year, but the brand has also improved its reputation among consumers through a charity partnership. In February 2019, Dunelm pledged to raise £1 million for Macmillan Cancer Support, which could fund 17 Macmillan professionals for one year. Dunelm has raised over £1.2 million in the two years since.
Over the same time period, Dunelm’s Reputation scores (whether someone is proud or embarrassed to work for a brand) improved by 2.1 points, from 12.3 for the 12 months after February 2019 to 14.4 for the 12 months following February 2020. Impression scores (whether someone has a positive or negative impression of a brand) also increased by 3.3 points to 35.9.
These two scores also improved among those who donate to charity on a regular or ad hoc basis, with Impression scores increasing by 3.2 points to 39.0, and Reputation scores improving by 2.3 points to 17.1.
