Key Consumer Trends in the Home Furnishings Industry  

Radial Research recently completed a consumer survey focused on eCommerce and the home furnishings industry. We interviewed Brendan Lease, Radial’s Director of Product Marketing, to unpack the latest trends for the industry. The interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

Furniture and home furnishings are a broad category. What were we specifically digging into with this recent Radial Research survey? 

“Good question! It’s a broad category. It’s inclusive of everything from indoor/outdoor furniture, bedding and blankets, home décor, light fixtures, window treatments, and rugs. 

When you think of other categories, like apparel and footwear, you are looking at similar sizes and similar SKUs. But with home furnishings, there are products with lots of different shapes and sizes, which leads to some interesting buying expectations from consumers and eCommerce fulfillment challenges for retailers.” 

What will online shopping look like for home furnishings in the next 5 years? 

“According to EMARKETER, US furniture and home furnishings retail sales will grow to $486 billion by 2028. And eCommerce sales will grow to $215 billion by 2029. About $110 billion will be for goods like bedding, decor, rugs, and lighting—smaller stuff that will sell more than traditional large furniture purchases. Home furnishings [excluding furniture] is the second highest category projected to grow in eCommerce over the next four years, just behind small consumer electronics. Over a third of the category’s sales came from eCommerce in 2024.” 

When do shoppers tend to buy new home furnishings?  

“It depends—here’s what we found in the recent Radial survey. Overall, most consumers buy during traditional holiday periods (26%) and sales periods like Presidents Day or Independence Day (21%). You know, when people can find deals. We also see many consumers making purchases when they redecorate (28%), during promotional events (28%), or—most common of all—as needed (34%).  

But it gets more interesting when you look at the demographic breakdown.” 

Dive deeper into that. What are the differences between generations? 

“Baby Boomers are much more likely to buy home furnishings as needed (45%) and much less likely to buy things when they move (15%). On the other hand, Gen Z consumers purchase most during the holidays (65%) or when moving (53%). And Gen Z likes to purchase during promotional events to get better deals. Gen X and Millennials like to buy during the holidays or when redecorating a space.  

When you unpack it a little bit, it makes sense. Younger generations are a bit more transient and likely to move more often. They might have more opportunities to buy home furnishing items as their living spaces change. More established generations may buy things when they remodel or redecorate. Price always matters, but it matters a lot more to younger generations looking for deals. The younger the consumer, the more important price is going to be to drive that buying decision.” 

What are the barriers causing consumers to buy home furnishings in store versus online?  

“There are a lot of factors here. Fifty-five percent of consumers first discover items at physical stores [per EMARKETER].  Consumers are really interested in seeing the quality of an item in person compared to other categories. They also want to literally size it up and see if it fits in their space. We see that across the different sub-categories, too. Shoppers want to see the quality and size in-person. If you’re buying something that will live in your personal space for a long time, you want to take a close look at it first. 

Plus, consumers sometimes worry about damage caused by shipping online orders, especially with things like lighting or furniture. We also saw that Gen Z is particularly concerned with assembly and shipping options when it comes to buying home furnishings online. This may be due to the extended shipping times for some items or call it the “IKEA effect” where they are spending a lot of time putting things together.” 

If shoppers buy home furnishings online, where do they discover products?  

“Like I said, most shoppers first discover a new product in a physical store. The next most common way is comparison shopping on online marketplaces. This is interesting if you think about it. They may know basically what they want, like a gray blanket or a coffee table or a desk but will go onto a marketplace like Wayfair or Amazon to comparison shop and find a good fit and price for what they need. 

When you slice by demographics, comparison shopping is big with Gen Z. Forty percent of Gen Z shoppers indicate comparison shopping online is what influences them to buy. It’s interesting to think about from a channel perspective. 

In this space, social media has a pretty limited impact. Just 9% of all consumers choose it as the primary influencers. It’s a bit stronger with Millennials at 19%. That’s the most of any demographic.” 

How price sensitive are consumers when it comes to home furnishings? 

“Prices and discounts are the top factors influencing US shoppers’ buying decisions in 2024 [per EMARKETER]. Free shipping and returns are also important. According to our survey, free shipping is the biggest driver to encourage shoppers to buy more. Overall, the space is interesting in terms of price sensitivity. You probably have fewer impulse purchases here than in other categories. People like to do more research.” 

What would encourage consumers to buy more products online or in-store?  

“According to EMARKETER, 64% of shoppers buy home furnishings less than once per month. It’s an infrequent shopping trip. That means the customer experience is critical to both close the sale and cause consumers to return in the future.  

Per the Radial Research survey, free shipping (31%) and in-store experience (21%) are the two most important factors here. So, retailers should think about their shipping strategies and, if you have a physical store footprint, how you get consumers to check out your products in person to build that relationship. Even if they don’t buy in-store, they’ll likely comparison shop online.” 

What can brands do to create great customer experiences online? 

“One trend in this space is using augmented reality to visualize items before purchasing them. Lots of big box retailers and online marketplaces have them, so it’s not an uncommon experience, right? You’d expect consumers to jump on this, since they want to see a product’s quality and size. Interestingly, only 7% of surveyed consumers said that having VR/AR would encourage them to buy more. That may be an untapped opportunity—maybe consumers aren’t super comfortable doing that today, or maybe there needs to be easier ways to do it.  

When shopping online, 14% of consumers want better, more accurate product descriptions. To repeat, though, having a physical presence in a store is key. At the very least, more people see and experience your product, which is a huge element in the buying decision.” 

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