Welcome to Furniture Industry News.

I'm here with you today, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2025, bringing you the latest updates from across our industry.

Let's dive into what's happening in furniture, retail and manufacturing right now, starting with some encouraging news from the Department of Commerce.

Furniture and home furnishing stores are showing solid growth momentum.

July numbers came in strong with the category hitting 11.66 billion in adjusted sales with marking a 5.1% increase compared to July 2024.

What's particularly impressive is that we've been seeing consistent year over year growth since late last year and the trend isn't slowing down.

Year to date, we're looking at 78.23 billion in sales, outpacing 2024 by 5.7%.

This growth is happening while overall retail is growing at 3.9%, so furniture is actually outperforming the broader retail market.

The momentum from June carried right into July with a 1.4% month over month increase, showing that consumer demand for furniture remains steady even as other sectors face challenges.

Speaking of consumer behavior, there's been some interesting research about how shoppers are responding to the price increases we've all been dealing with.

According to new data from Serkana, consumers seem to be accepting the relatively small price increases we've seen so far.

Overall retail sales revenue was up 2% in early August, even though unit demand actually fell 1%.

This tells us that people are still buying, but they're being more selective about what they purchase.

What's particularly interesting is that consumers don't remember furniture price increases as clearly as they do food prices.

Since furniture purchases happen less frequently, this means the impact on spending behavior isn't as severe as some feared.

However, there's a catch here that furniture retailers need to understand.

Female shoppers, who represent 59% of discretionary retail spending, are pulling back faster than male shoppers.

This shift in female shopping patterns is something every furniture retailer should be paying attention to.

Women's discretionary spending grew just 1% in the first half of 2025, while men's spending increased 2%.

More concerning for our industry, specifically, the pullback among female shoppers hit furniture particularly hard, along with apparel and housewares.

The good news is that home decor gained ground, suggesting women are choosing smaller refresh purchases over big ticket furniture items.

The research shows women are shifting away from department stores and mass merchants, moving more toward E commerce and warehouse clubs.

They're also gravitating toward products that let them spruce things up rather than making major furniture investments for retailers this means you need to think about how you're marketing to women and consider offering more decor items and smaller pieces that can refresh a space without breaking the budget.

This trend toward value conscious shopping is playing out across retail more broadly.

Off price retailers are absolutely crushing it right now.

Chains like tjx, which includes Home Goods, saw visits increase significantly in the second quarter.

Home goods led the pack with 7.4% visit growth, while TJ Maxx was up 5.9%.

Ross and Burlington also saw strong growth, with Burlington up 8% and Ross up 5.8%.

What's driving this is that consumers are extremely focused on value right now and some are trading down from traditional retail stores.

The treasure hunt experience these chains offer is also keeping people coming back more frequently since inventory changes week to week.

This creates a challenge for traditional furniture retailers who need to find ways to compete on value and excitement.

Now let's talk about something that could significantly impact costs for many in our industry.

There's been a major development with duties on float glass and mirrors from China and Malaysia.

The US has imposed preliminary anti dumping duties as high as 311.8% on float glass from China, and one Malaysian supplier is facing duties of 846.4%.

A final decision is expected around December 1st.

Here's what this means for furniture manufacturers and if you're buying glass tops for dining tables, mirrors for bedroom collections, glass shelving or mirrored elements for display cabinets separately from China or Malaysia, you could be hit with these massive duties.

The good news is that this likely won't affect finished furniture pieces where glass is already incorporated, and it definitely won't impact wooden bedroom furniture from China since that already faces existing duties.

The key issue is how these products are classified when they enter the country.

If a glass top comes in separately from the table base, it's classified as glass rather than a furniture part, which means it could face these new duties.

Companies will need to work closely with their customs brokers to understand exactly how their imports are classified and whether they need to find new suppliers or adjust their sourcing strategies.

This could push costs higher for domestic furniture manufacturers who use these components, or it could force them to shift to suppliers in other countries outside China and Malaysia.

Either way, it's another example of how global trade policies continue to reshape our industry's supply chains.

On the retail front, there's mixed news from major players.

Dillard's just reported its first quarterly retail sales gain since 2022, with total retail sales up 1% to $1.447 billion in the second quarter.

However, home and furniture was actually their weakest category, continuing a bumpy streak for that division.

The company's CEO noted they're focused heavily on inventory control given the changing retail environment.

Unfortunately, we're also seeing some casualties in the independent retail space.

Rosso Furniture and Decor, a 47 year old California retailer, is closing both its Morgan Hill and Gilroy locations.

Owner Melissa O', Malley, who bought the business in 2021, cited ongoing economic challenges for the decision to shutter the stores, which had 70,000 square feet of showroom space combined.

This closure highlights the continued pressure facing independent furniture retailers trying to navigate today's challenging retail landscape.

Looking at the bigger economic picture, there's some positive news on the CEO confidence front.

The Conference Board reported that CEO confidence jumped to 49 in the third quarter, up 15 points from the previous quarter.

While that's still below the neutral 50 mark, it shows improvement.

Recession fears dropped significantly from 83% to just 36%.

Of CEOs expecting a recession in the next 12 to 18 months, CEOs are citing increased productivity, technology, supplier negotiations and workforce upskilling as their top strategies for managing costs.

However, nearly two thirds expect to pass cost increases through to consumers via higher prices.

For furniture retailers, this suggests the price pressure environment isn't going away anytime soon.

Most CEOs report cost pressures from suppliers at 71%, materials at 64% and technology at 63%.

Wages came in fourth at 47%.

This aligns with what we're seeing across the furniture industry, where raw material costs and supply chain pressures continue to be major factors in pricing decisions.

That wraps up today's update from the furniture industry.

We're seeing solid sales growth, shifting consumer behaviors, new trade challenges and continued pressure on independent retailers, all while the broader economy shows signs of stabilization.

Stay informed, stay flexible and keep focusing on what your customers need most in this evolving market.

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