European Furniture Market Update - October 2026

Furnilytics Market Briefs provide a monthly overview of the European furniture market, combining the latest furniture retail, furniture manufacturing and online demand indicators into a single market update. Based on data from Eurostat, national statistical offices and continuously updated Furnilytics datasets, each edition reviews harmonized 3-month year-on-year developments across Europe and selected international markets. The briefs help manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and investors monitor furniture market trends, demand conditions, production activity and overall market momentum.

Executive summary

The latest indicators point to a modest improvement in European furniture market conditions through July 2026. Retail turnover increased by 1.6% on a six-month year-on-year basis, while manufacturing output remained down 1.7%. Furniture-related web searches continued to show comparatively strong demand-side momentum, rising by 6.6% compared with last year.

The overall picture remains mixed. Retail conditions have improved at the European level, while manufacturing continues to lag behind. Germany remains weak on the retail side, although production has improved considerably, while Italy continues to show positive retail growth despite weaker manufacturing. Lithuania remains the clearest positive manufacturing outlier. Taken together, the latest data suggest gradual stabilisation, but with substantial differences between countries and between demand and production indicators.

Retail

Retail demand remains mixed across the European furniture market. The broader European retail indicator increased by 1.6% on a six-month year-on-year basis, pointing to continued but moderate growth in demand.

Among the major markets, Germany remains the weakest, with retail turnover down 5.5% over the latest three-month period. France also remained negative at -2.3%. Italy continued to record positive growth at +1.7%, although momentum moderated compared with the previous update. In the United States, the decline narrowed further to -0.7%, indicating continued movement toward stabilisation.

The wider European picture remains considerably more positive than the largest markets alone suggest. Growth remains strong across several Northern, Central and Southeastern European markets, including Sweden, Poland, Norway, Denmark and the Baltic states. This broader strength continues to offset weakness in Germany, France and a number of other Western European markets.

Overall, the latest retail data point to a gradually improving but highly uneven market. Growth is increasingly broad-based outside the largest Western European economies, while Germany remains the clearest drag on the overall retail picture.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing conditions remain more challenging than retail demand, although the latest data show some improvement at the European level. European furniture production declined by 1.7% on a six-month year-on-year basis, indicating that output remains below last year’s level but that the contraction has become less pronounced.

Among Europe’s largest furniture-producing countries, Italy and Poland continue to record weak conditions, with production down 5.5% and 4.9%, respectively. Germany improved further, with the decline narrowing to just 0.7%, bringing output much closer to stabilisation. Lithuania remained the strongest performer among the highlighted markets, with production growth accelerating to 8.0%.

The broader European picture remains highly uneven. Positive momentum in parts of Northern and Eastern Europe contrasts with continued weakness across several major manufacturing markets. This divergence suggests that the recovery remains fragmented rather than broad-based.

Overall, the latest production indicators point to gradual improvement at European level, but the manufacturing environment remains subdued. Germany’s continued recovery and strong growth in Lithuania provide more positive signals, while persistent weakness in Italy and Poland shows that a sustained sector-wide recovery has yet to take hold.