Tim Reed recently asked me for “my thoughts on the hearth industry right now.” As I write this, it’s currently the third week of November. Tim has not been the only one in the past few weeks who has asked me this same question. Over the years, I’ve found that people start asking this question when the fall selling season gets off to an unpredictable start. People have used different terms to describe the current market conditions: “spotty,” “up and down,” “busy one week and slow the next,” “a mixed bag,” “doing well,” and “picking up quite a bit in the past few weeks.” Even though there’s a lot of uncertainty about how this season will play out, almost everyone I’ve spoken with has an optimistic outlook for the future. 

Many retailers who have not been so busy have been investing in new showroom displays, updating their retail spaces, taking advantage of sales and technical training, and wondering what new products will be released soon. They have also found efficiencies that reduce operating costs and increase customer service. These activities will put them in better positions to increase their sales and profitability when the market moves into the next growth cycle. 

In my discussion with retailers and sales representatives, I discovered some regions are performing better than others. It seems that it’s a bit of a 50/50 on how retailers are performing compared to this same time last year. For solid fuel and gas, I feel that 50% are selling about the same or up while the other 50% are down a bit. The exception is electric fireplaces. Retailers who have taken this category seriously and have committed to investing in proper showroom displays are seeing significant growth in this area. 

Another thing that’s stood out is that foot traffic is noticeably slower with most retailers. Statistics show that web traffic has risen significantly in the past two months. My gut feeling is that retailers who are active and savvy on social media are the ones experiencing better sales. I would encourage retailers who aren’t using social media to promote their businesses to start doing so. If you don’t have the time or are not sure how to get started, reach out to your suppliers. Some have platforms (Promoboxx is a good example) where free social media campaigns can be generated. These suppliers will happily set you up with these platforms, and some will even help you create the channels themselves.