After a slight decline in 2023, the furniture market is down 5.1% (in value) in 2024. Purchasing power, household choices, wait-and-see attitude... The French are postponing their furniture purchases while waiting for better times. Although inflation has returned to levels more in line with its long-term average, the price increases of previous years have not been erased and are still weighing on household budgets.
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Households still feel that their purchasing power is declining, although INSEE data shows the opposite. In this context, the decline in furniture sales of just over 700 million euros is bringing the market back below 14 billion.
The sharp drops in activity in new and old real estate should have had an even greater impact on the market because 1/3 of furniture purchases are linked to moving.
In this context, the decline in furniture activity remains limited, even if:
Not all product categories are in the same boat, between comfort products (bedding, upholstery) and storage products (living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom). Or, a gap is widening between the equipment market and the renewal market. Finally, quite possibly French people in rural areas are continuing to invest in the home.
More information:
IPEA
www.ipea.fr