Furniture Stores NAICS 449110

Mar 24, 2025 - Retailers Prepare for Tariff Impacts

• According to a Furniture Today Strategic Insights survey of retailers, nearly half of respondents said that they floor at least 60% imported products, making their profit margins vulnerable to tariff impacts. Top sources of imported goods among respondents were China, Vietnam, Mexico, and Canada. A majority of retailers said they were very concerned about the new Trump administration’s tariffs on goods from China and the pending 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada. More than half of respondents said they would not be willing to absorb any tariff-related price increase before passing the increases onto consumers, while one out of three said they could absorb a less than 10% increase.
• According to a report in CFO Dive, consumer confidence levels, an indicator of discretionary spending, have fallen due to consumer anxiety about tariff effects and economic uncertainty. The consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan dropped 11% in March 2025, marking the third straight month of declines and hitting the lowest level since November 2022. In addition, the Conference Board index of consumer confidence in February 2025 marked the biggest decline since August 2021 and the third straight month of declines. According to Stephanie Guichard, senior economist for global indicators at the Conference Board, “There was a sharp increase in the mentions of trade and tariffs, back to a level unseen since 2019. Most notably, comments on the current administration and its policies dominated the responses.”

• Mattress manufacturers are poised for a recovery in 2025 following a 4.5% sales decrease in 2024, according to Furniture Today. The International Sleep Products Association expects 2025 mattress sales to rise by about 3% in value and 1.5% in unit sales. In dollars, mattress sales are forecast to grow to $9.7 billion in 2025 from $9.4 billion in 2024. Sales are projected to remain under 2023’s sales of $9.8 billion. As bedding executives look to 2025, their top concerns include inflation, elevated interest rates, a stagnant housing market, and possible tariffs. However, bedding executives think consumer confidence will improve, and conditions will stabilize in 2024, leading to a modest recovery.
• Furniture costs are expected to increase according to a new study by the National Retail Federation (NRF) of the estimated impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff proposals. The study looked at the effect of tariffs on prices of major consumer product categories including apparel, toys, furniture, household appliances, footwear and travel goods. Trump has proposed a universal 10-20% tariff on imports from all countries and an additional tax on imports from China. Per the NRF study, consumers would pay $13.9 billion to $24 billion more for apparel, $8.8 billion to $14.2 billion more for toys, $8.5 billion to $13.1 more for furniture, and $6.4 billion to $10.9 billion more for household appliances with the proposed tariffs in place. The study showed the tariffs would have a “significant and detrimental impact” on the costs of a wide range of consumer products, in particular those products supplied primarily by China. US retailers would be unable to absorb the increased costs and would need to raise prices “higher than many consumers would be willing or able to pay.” According to Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president of supply chain and customs policy, “Retailers rely heavily on imported products and manufacturing components so that they can offer their customers a variety of products at affordable prices. A tariff is a tax paid by the U.S. importer, not a foreign country or the exporter. This tax ultimately comes out of consumers’ pockets through higher prices.”