As 2023 progresses, consumers have shown interest in both discretionary spending and value-conscious spending. With the emergence of these two trends, we wondered what we could learn about current consumer interest in furniture buying by examining foot traffic to major furniture stores. Taking insights from our latest Q2 2023 Consumer Trends Report, here’s what we found when examining foot traffic to top furniture stores across the country.

We examined consumer foot traffic to a variety of shopping destinations from Q2 2022 to Q2 2023. We found that furniture stores were some of the only shopping destinations that saw decreased year-over-year foot traffic at -2%. While this decline is slight, it is notable that most other shopping destinations experienced significantly increased foot traffic, including arts and craft stores, jewelry stores, and dollar stores. While some consumers are looking for highly-discounted goods found at places like dollar stores, others are looking to spend more frivolously at places like jewelry stores. So, where do furniture stores fit in?

When examining foot traffic to furniture stores in greater detail, we looked at furniture store and homeware chains HomeGoods, IKEA, and At Home. From Q2 2022 to Q2 2023, all of these furniture store chains saw notable increases in foot traffic. HomeGoods saw the largest increase in year-over-year foot traffic, with a substantial 39% increase. IKEA saw a 14% increase, closely followed by At Home’s 13% increase.

All three brands experienced fluctuating foot traffic over the last year. In Q3 2022, all brands saw increased foot traffic, with IKEA seeing the largest surge, followed by sharp declines across the board. In Q4 2022, foot traffic to all brands took a plunge before recovering in Q1 of this year. These shared trends suggest that shared factors, like seasonality, impact foot traffic to furniture stores.

When comparing the share of estimated daily visitors between the three brands, IKEA took the largest share in Q3 2022. Perhaps IKEA benefited from the influx of student shoppers preparing for a new semester with home decor and furniture. Then, when foot traffic levels at all companies fell in Q4 2022, HomeGoods snagged and maintained the biggest share of daily visitors up until Q2 2023.

Although all brands saw similar trends in foot traffic over the last year, what may be helping HomeGoods stand out these days?

The last few years saw off-price companies like HomeGoods perform well as consumers focused on getting more value for their money during the pandemic. Although the pandemic has been declared over, this momentum could continue for HomeGoods. Earlier this year, homewares megaretailer Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy and began widespread liquidation sales. This may be key to understanding the recent upward trend for HomeGoods.

As Bed Bath & Beyond closes stores, HomeGoods’ parent company, TJX Companies, plans to fill in the product gaps. By offering more products that mirror Bed Bath & Beyond’s product lines, HomeGoods can now appeal to former Bed Bath & Beyond shoppers, attracting new foot traffic. Given that their target markets are similar, At Home has probably benefited from Bed Bath & Beyond’s bankruptcy as well.

As inflation and housing costs continue to rise, and fewer people buy new homes, home remodeling projects could be driving more consumers to visit not only HomeGoods, but At Home and IKEA as well. It will be interesting to see if all three companies experience growth through the rest of 2023, and if IKEA will take the lead once again in Q3 2023 as it did in Q3 2022.

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