Home Furnishings Stores
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 18,400 home furnishings retailers in the US sell housewares, tableware, giftware, décor, linens, lighting, floor coverings, and window treatments. Home furnishings include most home-related goods, but exclude furniture. Companies that specialize in general home furnishings account for 54% of industry revenue; floor coverings retailers are 43%; window treatment retailers are 3%.
Competition From Alternative Retailers
Home furnishings stores face competition from a variety of alternative retailers, including mass merchandisers, department stores, Internet-based and catalog retailers, outlet stores, and home shopping networks.
Demand Driven By Trends
The home furnishings market is influenced by trends and fads related to fashion.
Industry size & Structure
A typical home furnishings store operates out of a single location, employs about 11 workers, and generates $3 million annually.
- The home furnishings retail industry consists of about 18,400 companies that employ about 205,800 workers and generate $56 billion annually.
- Companies that specialize in general home furnishings account for 56% of industry revenue; floor coverings retailers are 41%; window treatment retailers are 3%.
- The general home furnishings retailing segment of the industry is somewhat concentrated, with the top 20 firms accounting for 49% of sector sales. The floor covering and window treatment retailing industries are fragmented.
- Large companies include CCA Global Partners (Carpet One, Flooring America), Bed Bath & Beyond, Williams-Sonoma, and Pier One.
Industry Forecast
Home Furnishings Stores Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 20, 2023 - Brands Less Important to Home Furnishings Shoppers
- Only 4.2% of home furnishings and décor shoppers say brands are important to them, according to a recent survey in Home Accents Today. The 2023 Consumer Buying Behavior Report from Intelligence Node surveying 1,000 shoppers found that the home furnishings and décor category had the lowest brand loyalty of all options. When asked which shopping categories they would target for cost-cutting in 2023 if needed, about a third of consumers named home décor and furniture as one of their top categories. Respondents also selected luxury goods and fashion and apparel as their top budget-cutting categories. Nearly half of the respondents said they would spend less overall in 2023, with the highest reductions coming from the 18-to-24 age group and those earning less than $50,000 annually.
- Sales for furniture and home furnishings stores increased 0.4% unadjusted year over year but fell by 2.5% month over month seasonally adjusted in February 2023, according to data released by the National Retail Federation. Overall retail sales were up 5.4% in February 2023 over a year ago but down 0.4% from January 2023, according to the US Census Bureau. NRF’s retail sales calculation, which excludes car dealers, gas stations, and restaurants, showed an increase of 6.5% unadjusted year over year and 0.5% month over month in February 2023. According to NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz, “Sales growth has slowed in recent months, but consumers’ economic health still looks good. February is typically the slowest month of the year, so monthly fluctuations are expected. Sales are higher than last year and that’s due in large part to the strong labor market, which means more income and spending.”
- Improved housing affordability and easing mortgage rates pushed home builder sentiment higher in February 2023, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Homebuilder sentiment, as measured by the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), increased seven points to 42 in February 2023 over the previous month, marking the second consecutive monthly gain and the highest reading since September 2022. Any HMI reading over 50 indicates more builders see conditions as good than poor. To attract buyer traffic, 57% of homebuilders reported providing buyer incentives, such as cutting prices, offering mortgage rate buy-downs, and paying points for buyers, according to the NAHB.
- Total unit sales of discretionary general merchandise in the US fell 7% in 2022 over the prior year, according to NPD Group data in Furniture Today. While the year started strong for general merchandise sales, things soured after the economy took a downturn in March. From March to December 2022, only 11 weeks delivered revenue gains, with the highest-selling periods being mid-July promotions and the December holiday season. Sales are projected to decline in many home and home improvement categories in 2023, compared to the robust sales during the pandemic. Still, sales may see an uptick as consumers will be looking to replace some of the products they purchased in the early months of the pandemic. According to Joe Derochowski, NPD’s vice president and industry advisor for the home and home improvement industries, consumers will settle into a more structured life that “still leans toward a home-centric lifestyle.”
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