--Furniture a hot item for Christmas --

Charleston, SC December 1, 2003 – The Furniture Buying Index is up one point this month to a reading of 89. Furniture retailers saw promising sales over Thanksgiving weekend for the upcoming Christmas shopping season.

Britt Beemer, Chairman of America’s Research Group, said, “Over Thanksgiving weekend, furniture retailers saw an 11.1% increase in shoppers over a year ago.” Beemer continued, “This makes this Thanksgiving shopping weekend larger than furniture retailers have ever seen.” Beemer added, “Furniture promises to be a hot item for Christmas this year.”

“New Year’s is generally a strong furniture shopping weekend, and this past Thanksgiving gives the indication that New Year’s weekend should be even stronger this year than normal,” Beemer concluded.

The Furniture Buying Index is compiled each month by America's Research Group from interviews with 5,000-8,000 consumers across the country. In a typical month, 80 percent of the consumers interviewed can name a specific furniture item they intend to buy. The Index's mark signifies what percent of the benchmark 80% actually have a particular item in mind.

Britt Beemer is chairman of America's Research Group, a full-service consumer behavior research company based in Charleston, SC. ARG provides research and strategic planning services to leading manufacturers and retailers of consumer goods across North America.

For more information call:
C. Britt Beemer
800-723-3253 or REQUEST MORE INFORMATION

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