Furniture e-commerce in the United States - statistics & facts

Mainstream furniture e-commerce is yet to come

Despite these encouraging sales figures, online sales of furniture and home furnishings still have a long way to go to prevail over the physical channel. In 2021, only 13 percent of online consumers in the United States mostly bought furniture and household goods online rather than offline. In addition, when reviewing digital purchases in the past 12 months, less than two out of ten U.S. internet users had acquired furniture and household goods online. At the same time, this is what makes it an e-commerce segment with such huge growth potential. Despite low mainstream adoption, there is a positive outlook for e-commerce furniture sales as return rates in this product category are very low. A mere six percent of U.S. digital buyers returned furniture or household items purchased online in the previous 12 months, compared to 25 percent of online fashion shoppers.

It all comes down to the shopping experience and shipping costs

As many shoppers are still wary of committing to big-ticket purchases via the internet, it is up to retailers to make potential buyers feel more comfortable about shopping online. According to a recent survey, over two-thirds of U.S. respondents were willing to buy large pieces of furniture online. The type of product also plays a role, as dining tables, bedroom furniture, or sofas were items that more than half of the U.S. consumers interviewed were comfortable buying through the e-commerce channel. Still, some of the reasons why these purchases are still not widely adopted in the U.S. market are related to high shipping costs, which was the main deterrent for as much as 55 percent of U.S. respondents. Buy Online, Pickup in Store (BOPIS) services have proved effective in overcoming this obstacle, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic and among younger generations.

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