mydeco.com releases a comprehensive 3 month study into consumer behaviour and spending, based on data from the UK's biggest home design website.

1. Embargoed: 00:01 Thursday 4th November 2010
Images, this full release and info graphics available here: http://mydeco.com/barometer
60,000 searches for gold wallpaper, cushions,
throws and corner sofas highlights a nation
seeking sanctuary in the home says mydeco.com
People are shopping more for their homes, but spending less on each purchase.
The number of purchases was up 20% in Q3 over Q2 2010
London, Thursday 4th November 2010: mydeco.com has today released the findings of
its quarterly snapshot into consumer shopping habits for the home. The findings reveal
a nation seeking cushions, comfort, inspiration and gold wallpaper, but the trends are
not uniform across the UK. The average spend per purchase has fallen 14% this
quarter, compared to Q2 2010. However, the total number of purchases is up by 20%
over the same period, showing that consumers are buying more but spending less on
each purchase. The number of individual transactions for Q3 is up 140% in 2010 vs
2009.
mydeco.com design director, Pia Munden, said: “We live in changing times and so a
little bit of comfort, even luxury can make all the difference to people. We are seeing an
increasing number of people spending and updating the property they are in rather
than moving and so some of the trends we are highlighting today will be a result of that
nesting behaviour.”
But spending has been on very specific items. For example in the past three months
there were 60,000 searches for wallpaper; 5,000 for gold wallpaper and 4,500 for rose
flocked wallpaper. Searches for cushions, throws and over 3,500 for chandeliers

2. indicate a nation making home a little more luxurious. Overall, consumers are looking
for smaller items rather than large purchases.
mydeco.com offers the widest range of furniture and homewares available anywhere
online, as well as a number of innovative creative tools for inspirational, and practical,
home design. The website allows shoppers to search over 1,500 retailers offering more
than three million products - from recognised high street names through to small
boutique designers and all points in between. This means mydeco.com is a truly
independent commentator on the interior design landscape, providing a balanced view
of shopping trends.
Arriving at the findings
mydeco.com examined more than 10,000 on-line conversations, 1.6 million internet
searches, 2.6 million keywords and 1,500 retailers to create ‘The interiors shopping
barometer’. www.mydeco.com/barometer
The research headlines at a glance:
 People are shopping more, but spending less on each purchase.
 Number of home purchases up 20% in Q3 over Q2, 2010.
o Average spend per transaction down 14% in Q3 over Q2
o Number of purchases for the home up 140% in 2010 over the same period,
2009
 The room most people are seeking inspiration for is the living room, with 26% of
mydeco.com visitors who shopped or researched by room looking for ideas for their
living room.
 The brands who have seen the biggest surge in interest over the past three months
are: The White Company, BHS and Barker and Stonehouse.
 The most popular product searched for was wallpaper, registering 60,000
individual searches, with specific trends for gold wallpaper (5,000 searches) and for
rose flocked wallpaper (4,500 searches).
 mydeco.com received 3.3 million unique visits from 2.6 million unique visitors
between July 1 and September 30 2010.
The most researched rooms: (July 1 through September 30, 2010)
Living room 26%
Bedroom 25%
Kitchen 12%
Bathroom 11%
Dining room 8%

3. Garden/outdoor 6%
Home office 5%
Children’s room 5%
Nursery 2%
The brand movers and shakers:
thewhitecompany.com (up 79 places to 47th most popular)
bhs.co.uk (up 56 places to 15th most popular)
barkerandstonehouse.co.uk (up 54 places to 37th most popular)
dotmaison.com (up 41 places to 23rd most popular)
space2.com (up 38 places to 69th most popular)
The most interior design conscious cities are: (Visits between July 1 through
September 30, 2010)
Top 10
Town/City Visits
London 960,249
Manchester 112,652
Birmingham 91,425
Glasgow 65,364
Edinburgh 49,954
Sheffield 38,531
Leeds 33,016
Bristol 30,781
Belfast 20,958
Southampton 20,465
Bottom two major towns/locations:
Town/City Visits
Southsea 9
Cleethorpes 2
Most popular search terms: (July 1 through September 30, 2010)
Search Term
1 Wallpaper
2 Photo album
3 Rooms
4 Table
5 Sofa
6 Coffee table
7 Dining table
8 Clocks
9 Table lamps
10 Wardrobe

4. This quarter’s headlines and mydeco.com commentary
All commentary attributable to Pia Munden, mydeco.com’s Design Director.
People are shopping more, but spending less on each transaction
“People are shopping for their homes again, but they’re careful about how much they
spend. The average spend per purchase has dropped in Q3 2010 by 42% compared to the
same period last year, but the number of sales is up by 140%. People are buying more
frequently, and perhaps more spontaneously – unlike last year when the credit crunch
restricted purchases and people were splurging very rarely on one or two big items for the
home.”
The room most people are seeking inspiration for is the living room
“As you would expect, we see fluctuations in the most researched rooms in the home
driven in part by seasonality. It’s interesting to note that living rooms and bedrooms have
been significantly more researched (with 26% and 25% of all mydeco.com visits
respectively) than kitchens (12%) and bathrooms (11%). To me this indicates that people
are keen to improve their homes but are focusing on the most used rooms in the home;
they’re not planning a major overhaul of the kitchen or bathroom – traditionally the
rooms which top the makeover wish list – because whilst improving these rooms adds
value, it requires significant expenditure. We’re seeing people’s desire to nest and improve
their home without splashing out on expensive projects.”
The biggest brand movers are: The White Company, BHS and Barker and
Stonehouse
“We see seasonality driving and influencing this, along with the season’s must-have
product or bargain. But similarly we see a long-term trend towards consumers mixing
both high street, high-end and boutique items when it comes to items for the home. It isn’t
just high street giants who appear at the top of the table; we’re seeing niche brands like
The White Company and Barker and Stonehouse with massively increased popularity this
quarter. We love this trend toward people shopping with established and small retailers
and recently launched the mydeco boutique to offer visitors exactly this choice.”
Looking to the future – consumer spending over the Christmas period
“This year due to the looming VAT increase in January many retailers are going into sale
very early, with some even slashing prices on high ticket pieces as early as November. It's
a great opportunity for consumers to make cut price 'expensive' purchases before the
usual flurry of January discounts. This will, of course, impact January spending, which will
be slower than in previous years.”
Looking to the future – Christmas trends
“Key themes this Christmas will largely divide in to four categories, which we’re terming
‘retro glam’, ‘burlesque’, ‘modern Scandinavian’ and ‘classic fairytale’. Evocative names
which speak of lashings of opulence, sparkle and comfort in the home this Christmas.
Burlesque is a particular favourite; purples, mauves and rich inky shades from mids to
dark. Subtle patterns with glossy finishes and lots of decadent, luxury fabrics and ribbons
such as velvets and sheers. Modern Scandinavian favours a clean, crisp and festive look –
detailing is fresh and bold and colours are kept simple, with lots of red and white.”

5. -ENDS-
For more information:
Paul Doran, Switch Communications: paul@switchcoms.com/ 07768 373 100
Hayley Buery, Switch Communications: hayley@switchcoms.com/ 07545 178 006
www.mydeco.com
www.twitter.com/mydeco
www.facebook.com/mydeco
About the research and barometer methodology
The barometer draws insights from 10,000 online conversations, 1.6 million searches,
2.6 million keywords, 1,500 retailers and commentary from mydeco.com’s own
legendary Design Board, which includes Sir Terence Conran, Kelly Hoppen, Philippe
Starck and other highly respected names.
About mydeco.com
mydeco.com was founded by the management team behind lastminute.com, one of
Europe's most successful ever online businesses. mydeco.com brings together more
than three million homeware products from over 1,500 UK retailers. From high-end to
high street, mass market to niche, mydeco.com enables consumers to find what they are
looking for, for their home, without having to trawling the high street.
Key website features include:
Shopping: Search the UK's most comprehensive database of over three million home
products by price, discount, colour or dimension. Over 1,500 retailers in one easy-to-
search online website.
3D room planner: View 200,000 3D room designs and build a virtual model of your
room using an easy-to-use tool, and choose from over 75,000 3D pieces of furniture,
wallpaper, paints and flooring to visualise how your room will look.
iPhone application: the first app to enable iPhone users to visualise a piece of
furniture in any room. You can add hundreds of 3D models of furniture to your photo
while on the move!
Community: Share creative ideas, ask questions and get expert advice from over
150,000 members simply by registering on mydeco.com.
Trends and inspiration: Get the latest news from the interiors world, read features
and trend watching advice, and browse hundreds of inspiring home images.