CIFF Shanghai has gained insight into the fact that the residential furniture industry has entered a stock competition phase. The gradual slowdown of the new housing market, combined with three major shifts—existing home renovation, consumption stratification, and functional upgrading—is reshaping the overall industry landscape.

In the past, furniture demand was largely driven by new home deliveries. Today, renovation and partial refreshment of old homes and second-hand properties account for over 60% of the overall renovation market. Consumers no longer purchase an entire home’s furniture all at once. Instead, they continuously add products based on scenarios such as functional upgrades and aging-in-place modifications. Long-term service and user reputation have also become core elements for brand survival.

Current home aesthetics have stabilized, with modern minimalism remaining the mainstream, while retro and mid-century styles continue to gain popularity. Compared to affordable, ordinary designs, light luxury furniture with outstanding texture is more favored. Even when trimming budgets, consumers are willing to pay for premium materials, refined craftsmanship, and long-lasting durability. Solid wood, mortise-and-tenon joinery, and original design are receiving increasing attention. When selecting furniture, consumers no longer focus solely on appearance but carefully consider environmental protection, material quality, and workmanship.

Various furniture subcategories are showing clear divergence in performance. Traditional large-sized complete sofa sets are seeing declining sales, while functional sofas and compact single-seat sofas are achieving counter-trend growth. Practical designs such as removable washable covers and extendable configurations better align with daily home needs. Solid wood beds remain the mainstream for bedrooms, with oak and black walnut among the most favored raw wood materials. Although smart electric beds still represent a small market segment, their growth rate is considerable, making them a new growth point in the healthy sleep track.

Seating products such as office chairs, dining chairs, and gaming chairs are experiencing robust market demand. Height adjustability and breathable mesh have become standard features. Product support and comfort are more persuasive to consumers than exterior design. The children's furniture segment maintains steady incremental growth, with children's beds, study desks and chairs, and mattresses seeing continuous strong sales. Parents prioritize eco-friendly, odor-free materials and structural safety when purchasing. Height-adjustable functionality is a core selling point, adapting to children's different growth stages.

Environmental protection is no longer a bonus selling point but an essential industry threshold. Domestic standards for hazardous substance control continue to tighten, with low-formaldehyde panels, water-based coatings, and FSC-certified wood becoming standard production requirements. A brand's ability to control raw material environmental quality directly determines consumer trust.

As urban compact homes continue to proliferate, modular space-saving furniture is encountering development opportunities. Folding, mobile, freely combinable, and height-adjustable small furniture pieces are seeing sustained sales growth, flexibly adapting to diverse home scenarios. Smart home and aging-in-place products are two long-term stable tracks. Smart mattresses equipped with sleep monitoring and massage functions are gaining increasing market acceptance. As population aging accelerates, demand for aging-in-place electric beds and assist-rise chairs is steadily rising, and with the support of related policies, this track holds ample development potential.

Overall, the growth logic of the residential furniture industry has shifted from new housing-driven to improvement-oriented demand-driven. Models relying solely on low prices and style-based internal competition are unsustainable. In the future, brands will compete on materials, functionality, service, and user trust. Only by deeply aligning with real consumer home scenarios and continuously optimizing products and supporting services can brands achieve stable growth in a stock market.

Source: weixin