Better Buying Institute Continues Expansion into Consumer Goods Sector with Focus on Homegoods
Homegoods retailers and brands are now invited to subscribe for the 2022 Better BuyingTM ratings cycle
The Better Buying Institute continues its expansion into the wider consumer goods sector with the publication today of its first Spotlight Report and Scorecard for Homegoods.
The Better Buying Purchasing Practices IndexTM (BBPPI) originally focused on the apparel and footwear sector, but after six ratings cycles, the number of product categories rated by suppliers and manufacturers continues to grow. The supplier surveys are currently used across a range of hardlines and softlines product categories, including toys, electronics and sporting goods.
The move into Homegoods comes after the category made up one-fifth of the ratings in the 2021 BBPPI, and includes products such as household textiles, indoor or outdoor furniture and decorative items, lighting, kitchenware, and similar items.
Better Buying’s research has identified significant differences between Homegoods and non-Homegoods ratings in certain categories of purchasing practices, highlighting the need to classify “Homegoods” as a separate benchmark to allow companies to see where they stand compared to their peers. Average Homegoods scores were significantly higher in Management of the Purchasing Process, for example, but lower in both the Design and Development and the Payment and Terms categories.
Dr Marsha Dickson, President and Co-Founder of Better Buying Institute, comments: “The growing diversity of product categories being rated by suppliers and manufacturers during Better Buying’s annual ratings cycles demonstrates the applicability of the BBPPI beyond the apparel and footwear sector, and the value to global brands and retailers of evaluating the impact of purchasing practices in different supply chains.”
“But just as with apparel and footwear, industry-level findings have only limited value to individual companies looking to better understand and improve their practices. Companies that subscribe to Better BuyingTM receive customized annual reports that analyze their performance year-over-year, highlight improvements, and offer suggestions on where to focus their attention next.”
Leonie Abraham, Better Buying’s Vice President of Business Development, adds: “Brands and retailers selling Homegoods products should subscribe to the annual Better BuyingTM ratings cycle that takes place in April, while brands and retailers who are already Better BuyingTM subscribers can opt to be compared against the new Homegoods benchmark so they can see how they are performing compared to their peers.”