Compare home furnishings stores in New Zealand at Canstar Blue. Harrisons Curtains & Blinds, Briscoes, Spotlight and The Warehouse were compared on Overall Satisfaction, Customer Service, Layout of Store/Website, Product Availability, Quality of Installed Product, Range of Products on Offer and Value for Money.
See our Ratings Methodology.
Harrisons Curtains & Blinds is the No.1 choice for Kiwi consumers, earning the best ratings of any retailer in our research and winning Canstar Blue’s 2023 Award for Most Satisfied Customers | Home Furnishings.
Our review compares home furnishings on customer satisfaction, so you can discover what other Kiwis think about our compared home furnishings stores before you go ahead and make a purchase. Think of it like asking hundreds of your closest mates which home furnishings retailer they think is best!
Canstar Blue surveyed 1325 Kiwis who had purchased and installed soft furnishings in their homes in the past 12 months and asked for their feedback on their purchases.
Respondents rate their satisfaction with their home furnishings from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction was rated by respondents on the following criteria:
The winning brand is the one that receives the highest Overall Satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall Satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.
Retail brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.
Find more information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.
This year marks back-to-back wins for Harrisons Curtains & Blinds, which takes out our Most Satisfied Customers | Home Furnishings Award for the second year in a row. And it does so in style, by improving on the set of already great ratings it was awarded last year by earning top 5-Star ratings in every category measured.
Harrisons Curtains & Blinds’ customers give the home furnishings retailer a clean sweep of top 5-Star ratings, which is a clear indication of how satisfied they are with Harrisons’ quality, value and service.
From a single carpet store in Whangarei, Harrisons has grown into a countrywide business. It has 26 mobile showrooms that cover the whole country, selling flooring, kitchens (Auckland only) and solar power, plus curtains and blinds.
Its product range includes curtains, roman blinds, rugs, cushions and throws. And in addition to its quality products, Harrisons delivers great inspiration and service, too.
Harrisons’ website has up-to-date features on the latest home-styling trends. And once you’re ready to buy, Harrisons will deliver a tailored solution to your door.
A local Harrisons Curtains & Blinds expert will come direct to your home, with a full range of samples. The unique service ensures you can make an informed choice, in your home’s unique light, surrounded by your own furnishings.
Harrisons also delivers a promise on the quality of its products, service and prices. So if you find a lower price from a competitor within seven days of your purchase, Harrisons will match the price.
It’s also worth noting that this year, Harrisons Carpet & Flooring is the winner of Canstar Blue’s Award for Most Satisfied Customers | Flooring, making Harrisons the No.1 choice for the home.
Ranked second by consumers in this year’s award, Briscoes scores strongly across all rated categories, earning mainly 4-Star rating, including for Overall Satisfaction. Kiwi consumers familiar with Briscoes famous, regular sales, won’t be surprised that it earns its top rating for Value for Money.
Briscoes is part of Briscoe Group Ltd, alongside Living & Giving and Rebel Sport. It has stores across the country and is well-known for its great value sales promotions.
Briscoes sells soft furnishings for every room in the house, plus ready-made curtains and blinds. However, it doesn’t offer a custom service like the dedicated soft-furnishing stores in our ratings.
A popular and affordable choice for home furnishings, Spotlight earns an admirable set of ratings from its customers, achieving the set of marks across all categories as Briscoes. Spotlight’s focus on low prices earns it a 5-Star rating for Value for Money.
Spotlight has stores around the country, and is a one-stop shop for everything for the home. It sells an extensive range of homewares for every room in the house, from bedding and bathroom mats and towels, to kitchen and table linen and cushions and throws for living areas.
Spotlight has a great range of ready-made curtains and blinds, but also has a custom service offering a free in-home measure and quote.
Although bargains are synonymous with The Warehouse, low prices don’t reflect true value for money if the quality of the goods are also low. This is perhaps why, despite The Warehouse’s cut-price approach to home furnishings, it’s the only retailer in this year’s award not to earn a 5-Star rating for Value for Money. For Overall Satisfaction it scores a 3-Star rating from its customers.
The big box retailer offers a complete range of household linens, towels, curtains and blinds and living room accessories, all with an emphasis on great value for money. As such, The Warehouse doesn’t offer any custom-made services.
Not all home furnishing retailers in the market qualify for our ratings (based on minimum survey sample size), but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth considering. Here are more brands to check out before making a purchase decision.
CurtainStudio does more than just curtains. Through its nationwide retail stores and showrooms, plus online store, it delivers the best in curtains, blinds, shutters and coordinated soft furnishings, such as cushions and throws.
It offers ready-made and custom-made products featuring all the latest international trends and fashions. And through the CurtainStudio website, it’s easy to book an in-home measure and quote from its expert team of in-home design consultants, who are passionate about helping their customers create a beautiful home and express their style.
And if you’re looking for curtains in a hurry, CurtainStudio has a 12-day working day promise on selected fabrics, and eight days on readymade curtains and blinds.
Guthrie Bowron has 51 stores the length of the country and stocks a comprehensive range of curtains, blinds and window treatment accessories.
If you need help planning your décor, all you need to do is ask the friendly staff at Guthrie Bowron, and they’ll be happy to bring expert advice to you, in your home. The retailer provides advice on colour, design, and materials, and can give you a free measure and quote for your curtains and blinds.
Harvey Furnishings has six stores across the North Island, and one in Christchurch. It sells ready-made and custom-made curtains and blinds, as well as a range of other home furnishings, including: bedding, cushions, fabrics and throws.
Harvey Furnishings offers free in-home consultations for custom-made curtains, blinds and shutters throughout most parts of Northland, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and the Lower North Island.
When you’re choosing the right home furnishings retailer, what are the qualities you should look for? According to the Kiwi consumers in this year’s awards research, three features stand out: quality, value and service.
Quality and value are always key factors in all of Canstar Blue’s research, but customer service can be less important, especially when dealing with online retailers.
But when it comes to home decor, especially if you’re trying to choose the right curtains or blinds for your room, then personalised service is to the fore. Because making the wrong decisions can prove a very costly mistake, so expert advice is an essential part of the experience when shopping for new home furnishings.
Overall, here’s how the consumers in our survey rank the main things they consider when rating their choice of home furnishings retailer:
This report was written by Canstar’s Editor, Bruce Pitchers. Bruce has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in the UK and Australasia, including ACP, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. Prior to Canstar, he worked as a freelancer, including for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority, and for real estate companies on both sides of the Tasman.
Buy home furnishings at chain stores, rather than boutique stores: 41%
More grateful for home space due to pandemic: 39%
Prefer cheaper home furnishings to more expensive ones: 39%
Choose different styles of home furnishings for different rooms in home: 37%
Get home furnishing inspiration through social media: 32%
Choice of home furnishing influenced by children/pets (i.e. more durable, etc.): 31%
Patch up/cover worn home furnishings rather than buying new ones: 19%
Regularly update home furnishings to keep them fashionable: 17%
Regret some of the major home furnishing purchases made: 17%
Choice of home furnishing influenced by reality-TV shows: 9%
Canstar Blue surveyed 5075 New Zealand consumers across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from respondents who had purchased and installed soft furnishings in their home in the past 12 months. In this case, 1325 New Zealanders. Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criterion.
The past winners from Canstar Blue’s Home Furnishings ratings:
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