In 2026, a series of policies are accelerating the transformation of the furniture industry, with the development focus shifting from scale expansion to quality enhancement.Shanghai International Home Expo recognizes that a wave of new regulations and supportive measures is charting an entirely new course for the sector.

On June 1, the updated mandatory national environmental standard officially took effect, with E0-level becoming the compulsory benchmark for wood-based panels—non-compliant products are prohibited from entering the market. The furniture trade-in program has been comprehensively expanded, backed by special government bonds, effectively stimulating consumer demand.

Elderly-friendly furniture design standards have also been implemented concurrently, with multiple regions introducing specialized subsidies to accelerate the adoption of age-friendly home furnishings. Meanwhile, online furniture sales are now subject to stricter regulation, with false advertising practices being rectified. Under this confluence of favorable conditions, the furniture industry delivered steady revenue growth in the first quarter of this year, with retail performance outperforming the market average.

Digital transformation has been implemented on a broad scale across the furniture industry. Technologies such as AI-driven design, intelligent manufacturing, and virtual experiences now cover the entire process from design and production to service.

Leading enterprises have been the first to adopt AR/VR and intelligent design tools, creating immersive product selection experiences. Combined with intelligent production scheduling and automated equipment, production efficiency has been substantially improved, and personalized customization has become significantly more efficient.

The advantages of industrial cluster development are becoming increasingly prominent. Leading enterprises are driving technological upgrades among surrounding firms, resulting in markedly higher production efficiency. Following the completion of large-scale smart manufacturing bases, upstream and downstream industry chains have been seamlessly connected, with transportation and logistics costs continuing to decline.

Today, systems such as intelligent quality inspection and automated production scheduling are widely applied, enabling the industry to successfully achieve the simultaneous development of large-scale production and personalized customization.

The domestic consumer market is experiencing a clear upgrade, with green, smart, and high-quality products becoming the mainstream trend. Demand for whole-home customization and elderly-friendly renovations continues to climb, and high environmental-grade panels have become the preferred choice for consumers.

Major brands are continuously optimizing their products to balance aesthetics with practicality. Furniture trade-in programs remain popular, with smart upgrades and age-friendly renovations becoming the primary choices for consumers, while regional subsidies are effectively driving local sales growth.

The foreign trade market is recovering steadily overall, with export data showing strong performance in the earlier period. Although overall figures have seen some fluctuations, the product structure continues to improve, with the export share of eco-friendly and smart furniture steadily rising.

Emerging markets such as ASEAN and Africa are growing rapidly, becoming new growth points for foreign trade. Numerous enterprises are establishing cross-border e-commerce operations and overseas warehouses, continuously improving their overseas service systems.

Looking at the current state of the industry, the furniture sector will continue to evolve around three core directions: environmental upgrading, digital intelligence deepening, and scenario integration.

Environmental standards will continue to rise, with formaldehyde-free and recyclable materials becoming core competitive strengths for enterprises, and green supply chain construction emerging as an industry consensus. Lightweight digital tools will gradually become accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises, with digitalization levels improving across the entire value chain.

Product forms will continue to innovate, with elderly-friendly functions, smart connectivity, and health monitoring becoming increasingly integrated. Door-wall-cabinet integration and whole-space customization are gradually becoming market mainstreams.

The industrial cluster model will be further promoted, helping small and medium-sized enterprises reduce costs and transform. In the foreign trade sector, cross-border cooperation will be deepened, with overseas supporting services continuously upgraded.

Driven by the dual forces of policy and technology, the furniture industry has officially entered a stage of high-quality development. The environmental, smart, and elderly-friendly tracks hold tremendous potential and will continue to drive steady growth in home consumption and the real economy.

Source: toutiao