80% of Refurbished Furniture Buyers Are 'Satisfied'

Korea Consumer Agency, Survey Results of 500 Consumers

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Eight out of ten refurb furniture buyers (77.6%) were satisfied with the products, and seven out of ten (69.6%) expressed willingness to recommend them to others.

On the 18th, the Korea Consumer Agency announced that a survey of 500 consumers who had purchased or used refurb furniture within the past three years showed these results.

By age group, satisfaction was higher among those in their 50s (84.0%) and 60s and older (79.8%) compared to those in their 20s (68.2%). When purchasing refurb furniture, offline stores (49.2%) were used most frequently, while online shopping malls (23.8%) were used relatively less. This suggests that consumers prefer to see refurb furniture in person before buying.

There was a need for improvement regarding the provision of contracts. Only 40.2% of consumers reported receiving a contract when purchasing refurb furniture. The satisfaction score of consumers who did not receive a contract was 69.2 points, lower than the 74.4 points of those who did.

Product description information on online shopping malls appeared relatively insufficient and in need of enhancement. According to a satisfaction survey on refurb furniture description information by store type, online malls scored 62 points, lower than offline stores at 63.7 points. Consumers identified necessary information as defect details, discount rates compared to regular prices, availability of after-sales service (A/S), and reasons for refurbishment.

As measures to protect consumers, the most common response (44.0%) was "establishing a procedure for consumers and businesses to jointly check the condition and defects of refurb furniture." This was followed by "preparing a standard contract form" (41.8%) and "providing refurb-related information on online shopping malls" (34%).

Based on this survey, the Consumer Agency recommended that businesses prepare and use a standard contract form. Meanwhile, the survey was conducted online from August 9 to 18 last year, with a 95% confidence level and a sampling error of ±4.4 percentage points.