Furniture Forecast: 2% Decline in 2009

 

Business is expected to remain weak in the current quarter but will recover to a more normal level as the year progresses, according to analysts and industry experts.However, predictions on when a recovery might actually take hold range from the first quarter of this year to the fourth quarter.

 

In 2008, a disastrous second half sent U.S. consumer spending on furniture and bedding down an estimated 9.3%. Business was off an estimated 28% in the fourth quarter alone.

 

Furniture store sales are estimated to have declined even more sharply than total consumer spending in 2008, sinking by 11.4%. Furniture stores are believed to have lost some market share to discount stores like Wal-Mart and to alternative channels such as online vendors or TV shopping shows.