Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
DOVR Media Releases First “Furniture Demand Index”
July 21,
2026 by Karen Parrish in Business Strategy, Industry 
In the second quarter of this year, consumers shopping for home furnishings were most interested in whole room packages, an increase of 300%, accent chairs, which were up 23%, and nightstands, which led the category in conversion rates for the 90-day period, according to The Furniture Demand Index a new quarterly survey from DOVR Media that it generated from activity from its more than 1,000 retailers nationwide.
The Furniture Demand Index looks at four key home furnishings categories: Anchor Category, Rising Demand, Best Converter and Breakout Product. The information is pulled from online revenue, transactions and product and category. It is compared to activity over the prior quarter.
“In analyzing the quarterly results, we see barbell shopping. Consumers are either looking to make smaller individual product purchases like a nightstand or chair on the one hand or bundled packages for entire rooms on the other. The results and the average ticket show cautious consumers either making modest single item purchases to spice up a room’s décor, or in the case of room packages, modestly spending an average of $3,000 to change out the product in a single room.” said DOVR Media CEO, Jake Freedman, “Home furnishing purchases are often a key indicator to the overall state of the retail consumer. With items like nightstands and accent chairs seeing increased demand, it reflects a consumer still waiting for the economy to become more settled.”
Looking at specific categories in the Furniture Demand Index, the accent chair was the item that saw the most momentum in the “Rising Demand” category. With a 23% increase in demand and an average ticket of $511, consumers are turning to moderately priced pieces to freshen up a living space. In “Anchor Category,” bedroom continues to draw the most shopper interest, with a notable spike in the past month, bedroom should be a focal point of the retail front window and stocked deep.
Nightstands are currently the “Best Converter” in high traffic categories. With an average ticket of $176, the nightstand is turning browsers into buyers. These low-risk, reliable pieces are finding new audiences and getting people through the door. Lastly, in the “Breakout Product” category, the whole room package indicates consumers are drawn in larger numbers to buying grouping for a particular room rather than curating the products themselves.
As Freedman sums up, “One of the things I tell retailers, and this holds true in the home furnishings space and most other retail categories, is to trust demand, as it is a better indicator of consumer intent than just traffic. Now more than ever, independent retailers need to focus on maximizing sales opportunities. Having the wrong product mix can be the difference between keeping your lights on or closing your doors. The Furniture Demand Index shows where customers are looking today and how better to turn exploration into sales. Our technology and proprietary data at DOVR give retailers a leg-up when navigating today’s competitive and complex retail environment.”