During the "May Day" holiday in 2026, under the continuous promotion of the trade-in policy of consumer goods, the home building materials market handed over a report card with both quality and quantity. From the national macro data to the performance of sub-categories, from the head brand trend to the regional market fever, this round of "May Day" consumption presents the distinctive characteristics of "policy backing, quality upgrading and intelligent speed-up", which proves that household consumption is jumping from "buying single items" to "buying life".

1、the macro policy is strongly supported: "trade-in" becomes the main engine of the market.

According to the monitoring of the Ministry of Commerce, as of May 4, 2026, the national consumer goods trade-in activities have benefited a total of 86.204 million person-times, driving sales of 629.27 billion yuan. Among them, the category of household appliances was the most outstanding, with a cumulative sales of 34.735 million units, directly driving sales of 141.54 billion yuan. This scale shows that the trade-in policy has evolved from a short-term promotion tool to a long-term institutional arrangement to incite mass consumption.

There are also intuitive examples at the local level. During the "May Day" period in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, the sales of furniture increased by 14.4% year-on-year, and the sales of household appliances increased by 5.3%. The sales volume of new commercial housing in Huangshi, Hubei increased by 22.83% year-on-year, which led to the subsequent consumption boom of furniture and building materials. Hubei Daye achieved sales of 26.71 million yuan on the first day of the consumption season, showing the short-term stimulating effect of the combination of "local exposition+coupon subsidy". Shanghai, Jiangsu and other places have subsidies of up to 15% for first-class energy-efficient household appliances and smart products, forming a triple preferential superposition of "state subsidies+local subsidies+enterprise profits".

It is worth noting that the policy effect has surpassed the simple price stimulus. Consumers no longer only pay attention to "whether it can be used" in the process of replacement, but pay more attention to energy saving level, intelligent function and scene adaptation ability. This demand-side structural change provides a solid market foundation for the quality upgrade of the home furnishing industry.

2、 the outbreak of sub-categories: improved and intelligent products lead growth

During the "May Day" period, the sales data of several sub-categories revealed a clear shift in consumer preferences: consumers are willing to pay a higher premium for comfort, convenience, health and personalization.

JD.COM MALL's consumption inventory shows that the sales of mattresses and functional sofas have both increased by more than 100% year-on-year, and single person sofa chairs have soared by 167%. This data intuitively shows that the "micro-comfort" scene at home-from the main sofa in the living room to the lounge chair on the balcony-is becoming the intensive foothold of quality consumption. Consumers are no longer satisfied with "having a chair to sit on", but pursue ergonomic support, adjustable angle and high-value fabrics.

The customized bathroom category grew by as much as 400% year-on-year, becoming the fastest-growing subdivision track during the May Day period. Behind this is the overall demand of consumers for bathroom space aesthetics, dry-wet separation, intelligent integration and storage functions. The replacement of a single toilet or shower has been difficult to meet the demand, and it has been replaced by a one-stop bathroom solution of "design+construction+product".

According to the "May Day" retail data officially released by Haier Zhijia, its robot category increased by as much as 500% year-on-year. The explosive growth of smart cleaning appliances proves that there is no contradiction between "lazy economy" and quality life-technology makes housework easier, which is itself an important direction of consumption upgrading. In addition, smart beds, smart locks, smart lighting and other categories also recorded more than double-digit growth.

The category of doors and windows gives an intriguing signal. According to the survey of "White Paper on Top Ten Door and Window Brands in China in 2026", the average budget of decoration owners on doors and windows in that year increased by 42% compared with that in 2020. As a "big piece" in home decoration, the increase in the budget of doors and windows is not only due to the upgrading of raw materials and processes, but also because consumers' requirements for sound insulation, heat preservation, safety and design have increased significantly. These "Lizi projects", which were easily overlooked in the past, have now become the standard for quality home improvement.Shanghai International Home Expo believes that this reflects that consumers have put forward higher requirements for the function and emotional value of home space.

3、the brand and channel: the scheme of nesting and scene has become the mainstream

The "May Day" performance of the head brand further verified the business logic of "selling scenes instead of selling single items". Haier Zhijia's retail sales of full-scene smart sets increased year-on-year, and its high-end brand casarte's hedging consumption continued to be active. From a single refrigerator and washing machine to the smart scene of the whole kitchen, balcony and living room, Haier's growth reflects the transformation of the industry from "hardware sales" to "lifestyle delivery". Consumers are more inclined to choose a unified design, equipment interconnection and one-stop service, rather than pieced together products of different brands.

During the "May Day" period in JD.COM MALL, the overall performance of household products was good, especially the consumption growth of embedded household appliances, "self-pleasing" categories (such as massage chairs and aromatherapy machines) and "filial piety" categories (such as adaptive handrails and intelligent monitoring mattresses). It is worth noting that the experience value of offline channels is returning. Consumers are willing to walk into the store, touch the material with their own hands, feel the light and shadow effect, and compare the fineness of embedded installation. This immersive experience can promote the decision of high customer unit price more than online fragmented information, and also force the store to improve the professional ability of display design and resident designers.

The door and window industry also has a scene trend. Head brands launched the package scheme of "balcony window sealing+sound insulation upgrade+intelligent opening" during the May Day period. Consumers no longer buy a window alone, but regard doors and windows as a systematic project to improve the quality of living.Shanghai International Home Expo pointed out that the popularity of nesting and scene scheme will promote the competition of home brands from single product to overall service ability.

4、the regional market: offline activities and immersive experience rekindle the fireworks.

During the "May Day" period in 2026, consumer festivals, home carnivals and other activities were held intensively all over the country, which became an important starting point for activating the local market. These activities not only brought sales, but also reshaped the "sense of ceremony" and "trust" of home consumption. For example, the city's total consumption in Chongqing increased by 7.0% year-on-year, of which 129,000 transactions were realized with the sales amount of 430 million yuan driven by the superposition of state subsidies and municipal subsidies.

It is worth noting that consumption upgrading is not a patent in first-tier cities. From Chongqing, an important town in the west, to Jingzhou, a prefecture-level city, and then to Anyi, a county, markets at different levels have shown strong demand for smart toilets, functional sofas and quality doors and windows. This implies that the sinking strategy of home brands needs "high matching"-the sinking market is by no means a low-priced dumping ground, but a vast track that is equally sensitive to quality, design and service.

Another feature of regional market is that the ability of localized service has become the focus of competition. Merchants who can provide "integration of delivery and loading, recycling of old things and 48-hour response" won higher conversion rate and word-of-mouth recommendation during the May Day period.

5、 Trend Outlook: From "Policy Bonus Period" to "Mental Occupation Period"

Based on the data of the "May Day" home market in 2026, the following trend judgments can be extracted.

First, policy will remain an important booster for the market in the short to medium term. Trade-in has formed a scale effect. It is expected that all localities will further increase subsidies and expand subsidy categories in the second half of the year, and green building materials, aging renovation, smart homes and other fields are expected to usher in new policy dividends.

Second, the concept of consumption has undergone a fundamental change. From "price sensitivity" to "value sensitivity", energy saving, intelligence, design and service have become the key elements of decision-making. It will be more and more difficult to obtain market recognition for the mode of simple low-cost volume.

Third, nesting and full-scenario solutions will gradually replace the logic of single product sales. Brands that can provide one-stop design, installation and after-sales interconnection will gain stronger pricing power and user stickiness.

Fourth, offline experience and local service are becoming the core competitiveness of brands. In the context of increasingly fierce competition for standardized products, immersive exhibition halls, professional in-store designers and quick-response local installation teams are the keys for brands to stand out.

The "May Day" home building materials market in 2026 is not a simple promotion carnival, but a structural change driven by macro-policies and micro-consumption upgrading. It declares with clear data that household consumption has moved from the stage of "whether there is" to the stage of "whether it is good or not" to the stage of pursuing a better life. For industry practitioners, only by gaining an insight into the core logic of this battle for promotion-from selling single products to selling life, from fighting for price to fighting for value-can they stay in the forefront in the increasingly fierce market competition.