Welcome to furniture industry news.

Today is November 5, 2025.

We start today with a look at the housing market, which is showing some encouraging signs.

Existing home sales rose 4.1% year over year in September, reaching a total of 4.06 million.

A key driver for this uptick appears to be a slight easing in mortgage rates, providing a window of opportunity for some buyers.

This positive movement in housing is welcome news, as it often serves as a leading indicator for our industry.

However, when we look at the direct health of the furniture sector, the picture is a bit more complicated.

According to the latest report for August from Smith Leonard, new furniture orders were actually down 3% compared to the same month last year.

Shipments also fell, dropping by 6%.

On a brighter note, backlogs were level, suggesting some stability, but the overall trend points to a cooling in demand.

This contrast between a recovering housing market and softer furniture orders points to a deeper, more persistent issue, housing affordability.

The challenge isn't just about the number of homes sold.

It's about who is buying them.

The national association of Realtors recently released some startling data that underscores this problem.

The average age of a first time homebuyer has now climbed to a record high of 40 years old.

Think about that for a moment.

The milestone of a first home is being pushed further and further back.

In parallel, the share of first time buyers in the market has dropped to a record low of just 21%.

For the furniture industry, this is a critical statistic.

Younger consumers who have historically driven household formation and the initial large scale furniture purchases that come with it, are being priced out of the market.

This delay in homeownership directly translates to a delay in furnishing those homes, creating a significant headwind that isn't easily solved by fluctuating mortgage rates alone.

Shifting our focus to the retail landscape, y' all eyes are on the upcoming holiday season.

And here the forecasts are quite optimistic.

An OmniSend survey is predicting a substantial increase in consumer spending for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, to the tune of nearly $20 billion more than last year.

The average consumer is expected to open their wallets, spending around $340 on Black Friday and another $300 on Cyber Monday.

But what will motivate these purchases?

The data is clear.

Deals and convenience are king.

A significant 68% of shoppers say that discounts are their primary driver, while 52% are looking for free shipping.

We're also seeing the continued rise of buy now, pay later services, which are becoming an integral part of the consumer toolkit for managing holiday expenses.

This forecast suggests a strong appetite for spending, but it's an appetite that is highly conditional on value.

However, we must temper this holiday optimism with some recent performance data from the home goods sector.

QVC Group's third quarter results provide a dose of reality.

Sales in their home category, a key segment for furniture and decor, fell by 7% at their QXH division.

The story was similar at their Cornerstone division, which includes brands like Frontgate and Ballard Designs, where home category sales dropped by 8%.

These figures indicate a certain softness in consumer demand, specifically for home goods, even as overall retail spending is projected to rise.

It suggests that while consumers are ready to spend on holiday deals, big ticket home items might not be at the top of their list without significant incentives.

This is a crucial dynamic for furniture retailers to navigate in the coming weeks.

Now let's turn to corporate earnings, where we've seen a very mixed bag of results.

On the positive side, GXO Logistics reported a strong third quarter.

The logistics giant saw its revenue rise by 8%, reaching $3.4 billion.

Net income also climbed impressively, hitting $60 million.

The company highlighted robust new business wins and a positive outlook, signaling health and resilience in the supply chain and logistics part of our ecosystem.

Also posting positive news was Purple Innovation.

The mattress maker announced a slight sales uptick in its third quarter with revenue reaching $118.8 million.

More significantly, the company drastically improved its bottom line, narrowing its net loss considerably.

Purple attributes this success to the launch of its new product line and an expanding partnership with mattress firm which is getting their new products in front of more customers.

In stark contrast, Sleep Number faced a difficult third quarter.

The company reported that net sales dropped a significant 19.6%, down to $342.9 million.

This downturn led to a net loss of $39.8 million for the quarter.

Sleep Number is in the midst of an ongoing turnaround strategy and has recently amended its financing agreement to maintain flexibility as it navigates these challenges.

It's a tough spot for the smart Bed company, reflecting broader pressures on consumer spending for high end durable goods.

In other financial news, online retail giant Wayfair announced plans to offer $700 million in senior secured notes.

The purpose of this move is to repurchase some of its outstanding convertible notes.

A strategic financial restructuring as the company continues to manage its balance sheet in a complex market beyond individual company performance, several larger issues are shaping the industry.

First up is the perennial topic of tariffs.

A major case is currently before the Supreme Court challenging the very authority of the president to impose sweeping tariffs like the section 232 duties on steel and aluminum.

During oral arguments, several justices expressed skepticism about the scope of that authority.

The stakes are incredibly high.

If the court rules against the government, it could lead to the refund of an estimated $90 billion in collected tariffs, a massive figure that would reverberate through the economy.

While this legal battle plays out in Washington, a different sentiment has taken hold within the industry itself.

Coming out of High Point Market, many observers noted a sense of tariff apathy.

It seems many in the industry have come to accept these duties as the new normal.

Instead of fighting them, they are incorporating the costs and shifting their focus.

The conversation is moving away from chasing the lowest possible price and toward emphasizing the value of design, quality and functionality.

Another critical issue that has come to the forefront is safety.

Since mid October, more than 119,200 clothing storage units have been recalled.

These units, many of which were sold on major online platforms like Amazon and Walmart.com, fail to meet the mandatory safety requirements of the sturdy act.

The primary danger is tip over, which poses a serious risk to children.

This wave of recalls is a stark reminder of the industry's responsibility to adhere to safety standards, especially as more and more products are sold through third party e commerce sites.

Finally, a brief look at the supply chain shows that ripple effects from global uncertainty continue.

Unifi, the maker of the popular Reprieve Performance Yarns, reported that its first quarter net sales decreased by 7.9%.

The company directly attributes this dip to ongoing trade uncertainty and softer ordering patterns from its customers, illustrating how global economic and political currents directly impact the raw material suppliers at the very start of our supply chain.

That's all for this edition.

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