7 Ways You Know You’re In One of the “Elite” HomeGoods, According to Insiders
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Frequent HomeGoods shoppers will tell you there’s an art and a science to shopping at the discount furniture and decor store. The "science" lies in the data: Knowing, for example, what days of week new inventory gets placed on the floor. The "art" is in your ability to look past trendy trinkets to spot the designer-approved treasures. Master both, and you'll be more successful at using insider shopping strategies to navigate the ever-changing inventory.
The first step in any game plan involves knowing where to shop: Ask any HomeGoods supershopper about their favorite store, and they will have strong opinions. HomeGoods has roughly 940 locations across the United States, with the most clustered in California, Texas, and Florida. Sometimes what you find can be chalked up to random good luck—maybe you stepped foot in the store right when a stash of Pendleton blankets or Le Creuset cookware hit the shelves. But experienced shoppers know some HomeGoods stores are just better than others.
So, what are the signs that your local HomeGoods is, indeed, one of the good stores? Look for these five green flags, according to the pros.
1. Pay Attention To the Curb Appeal
Just like curb appeal is important in home selling, how the exterior of a HomeGoods looks can tell you a lot about what’s inside. In fact, Christine Lee, the California-based creator behind the Instagram account @homegoodsobsessed, says she can usually tell whether a HomeGoods is worth shopping as soon as she pulls into the parking lot.
“When a Homegoods is in a shopping plaza that is modern, clean, well kept, I know that it is drawing a customer base that appreciates aesthetics on every level,” says Lee, who pops into HomeGoods twice a week and has visited more than 250 stores.
The stores with cracked asphalt, poor lighting, and abandoned shopping carts left in the parking lot are usually signs that it will be a more difficult store to shop, she says. “You enter and you want to leave in 10 minutes because it doesn’t feel worth digging around to find anything,” she says.
2. Notice If the Shelves Are Well Organized
The best locations are staffed by people who make sure it’s not too overwhelming for customers to shop, Lee says, meaning the shelves aren’t overcrowded and the displays are well curated and organized. “There’s a flow, and there’s rapid turnover of products because the store understands its demographic and astute customer,” she says. “This is the store where you don’t waiver to purchase the item because it will disappear quickly.”
3. Check Out What’s On Hold
As soon as Lee walks in a store, she takes a look at what’s being placed on hold in front of the registers. Maybe it’s a set of barstools that look like they're from Restoration Hardware. Or perhaps it’s an oversized piece of art. If you’re seeing good stuff right off the bat, it signals that the store is well-stocked and that previous shoppers have had such good luck that they’ve purchased items and have to go get a truck or SUV in which to load their finds.
4. Shop HomeGoods in Well-Known Design Destinations
If you’re on #HomeGoods TikTok, you probably hear designer Windsor Dalton’s voice in your head when you’re shopping. He started creating HomeGoods content on his TikTok page (tiktok.com/@windsordaltondesigns) three years ago, and racks up the views with his videos on designer-approved finds at HomeGoods, panning to items and giving them a “yes” or “no.”
His best tip: Shop the HomeGoods stores that are close to preeminent markets and tradeshows, especially after the events wind down. The High Point Furniture Market comes to High Point, North Carolina twice a year, and you may get lucky and find some pieces that makers didn’t want to pay to ship back home after the show, says Dalton, a North Carolina-based designer.
HomeGoods says that there’s no single way that it sources merchandise, but inventory can come from department or specialty store cancellations, a manufacturer that made too much product, or a closeout deals from vendors.
Also take a look to see if your local HomeGoods store is sourcing from local designers and makers, Dalton says. That’s another green flag that you’re at a good HomeGoods location.
5. Shop the Stores Near Big Cities
Similarly, locations in and around larger cities are more likely to have good finds, says interior designer and North Carolina-based real estate broker Sarah Bronstein of Sukkha Interior Design. “The tend to have a higher concentration of good stuff, but that doesn't mean you can’t still find treasures in more rural locations—I just don’t think the stock is as consistent.”
6. Shop the HomeGoods Attached to TJMaxx Stores
If you’re looking for the HomeGoods with the biggest inventory, zero in on the ones that aren’t freestanding, but rather attached to TJMaxx stores, Dalton suggests. Those stores are the ones with more buying power.
7. Look for Lines Outside the Store
If you’re seeing lines building outside the store before the HomeGoods even opens, that’s a dead giveaway you’re at a good location, Dalton says. While every store has a different schedule for when its delivery trucks are coming in, he says that first thing in the morning tends to be the best time of day to go.
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