7.31.06 | Princeton Junction, NJ | The International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA) has announced a new survey of its membership and compared it to a similar survey conducted in 2004. The survey asked IFDA members how “the retail marketplace, outsourcing, the rise of Internet shopping, [and] the growth of TV and cable makeover shows” have affected their business. 87% of respondents said they would still “be attracted to the furnishings and design industry” if they were starting out now (compared to 51% in 2004). One commented, "The whole world seems to have been opened up to design.from the do-it-yourselfers to the continuing growth of the luxury market."

41% of respondents said retail outlets have “had a negative effect” on business (compared to 31% in 2004). One explained, "Mass merchants do not require the value-added collateral materials we design and provide to our clients' traditional furniture retailers." As a result, 33% said they have “had to alter the way they shopped for materials. Only 39% of respondents believed “continued offshore manufacture and foreign competition [would not] have an impact on [their] future in the furnishings and design industry,” compared to 67% in 2004. (Then again, only 32% of respondents said it would.) One respondent suggested, "As we are now more global, eventually the creative design process.will also be outsourced to offshore, as manufacturing is now."

Respondents had mixed feelings about the Internet’s impact on interior design. Some were pleased that their clients were better informed, or that their geographic reach had increased. Others believed the Internet threatened their business. For more information, visit http://www.ifda.com.