Monday, October 26, 2026
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Furniture Shoppers Are Holding Back. Big-Ticket Buying Sentiment Fell 18%.

Higher rates have customers wary of big purchases, and mattress import duties are staying put. Plus port fees and tariff refunds.

FIN Desk··5 min read
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Furniture Shoppers Are Holding Back. Big-Ticket Buying Sentiment Fell 18%.

Higher rates have customers wary of big purchases, and mattress import duties are staying put. Plus port fees and tariff refunds.

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Shoppers say this is a bad time to buy big. In the University of Michigan's final October survey, buying conditions for durable goods fell 18%, and that alone accounted for the drop in how people rate the economy right now. Rates are the reason they gave, and most expect rates to be higher a year from now.

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The short version

  • Shoppers: Big-ticket sentiment dropped on rates and affordability. Expect slower decisions and more payment questions.

  • Mattresses: Import duties on seven countries are staying. No relief on imported bedding.

  • Port fees: A proposal would keep China ship fees off until Jan 9, and Asia ocean rates look like they've peaked. Not final yet.

  • Also: The tariff refund schedule moved to Nov 5.

Shoppers: Big-ticket buying sentiment fell hard in October

The University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers put out its final October numbers on Oct 23. Overall sentiment was about where it was in September. The part that measures how people feel about conditions right now fell, though. Survey director Joanne Hsu said the drop came entirely from buying conditions for durable goods. People pointed to higher interest rates and to worries about whether they can afford big purchases.

Shoppers don't expect borrowing to get cheaper any time soon. Most people in the survey think interest rates will be higher a year from now, and that share is the highest since spring 2023. More of them also named high rates as the reason it's a bad time to buy a house.

The survey covers durable goods as a group and doesn't break out furniture. Treat it as a read on how customers feel about any big-ticket purchase, including a sofa or a mattress set.

Traffic Watch: Fewer shoppers walked into home furnishings stores this summer

Placer.ai, which estimates store visits from phone location data, found that visits to home furnishings chains came in below last year from July through September. It measures visits, not sales, and its category leans toward big home chains rather than independent furniture stores. Over the last several years, more of the holiday-season traffic at these stores has come before Thanksgiving week.

Mattresses: Import duties on seven countries stay in place

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) decided Oct 22 that dropping the existing duties on mattresses from seven countries would likely lead to continued or renewed harm to U.S. mattress makers. That keeps anti-dumping duties on mattresses from Cambodia, Malaysia, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. It also keeps a countervailing duty, which targets foreign subsidies, on mattresses from China.

This was a five-year “sunset” review, the check the government runs to decide whether an old trade order should end. The ITC handled it on an expedited basis. The Commerce Department still has to publish its own notice continuing the orders.

The duty rates vary by exporter, and this decision doesn't touch them. For retailers it means the import cost picture for bedding from these countries stays where it has been.

Port fees: A proposal would keep China ship fees off until January

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) proposed in the Federal Register on Oct 26 to keep its port fees on China-linked ships suspended for two more months, through Jan 9, 2027. The fees came out of a trade action aimed at China's shipbuilding and shipping industries. They've been switched off since Nov 10, 2025, and the current suspension runs through Nov 9. USTR says it wants more time to negotiate with China.

Comments are due by 5 p.m. Eastern on Oct 30. It's only a proposal, so nothing changes until USTR makes it final.

On rates, freight data firm Xeneta said in its Oct 23 weekly update that spot rates from Asia to both U.S. coasts were essentially flat for the week. Xeneta's chief analyst said the flat week suggests U.S. rates have peaked, and Xeneta expects them to soften for the rest of 2026. Rates are still far above where they were in late February.

Tariff refunds: The refund schedule moves to Nov 5

In the class case over refunds of tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the court on Oct 23 granted the government's request for more time to propose a schedule. The other side agreed to it. The parties now have until Nov 5, and the schedule has to include when the government answers the class complaint.

Quick hits

  • Texas factories: The Dallas Fed's Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey on Oct 26 showed growth in new orders slowed sharply in October. Far more factories reported paying more for raw materials than reported raising their own prices. One manufacturer said its suppliers point to higher diesel costs to justify price increases. The survey covers every kind of Texas factory and doesn't break out furniture. If you buy from domestic makers, expect more cost-increase requests.

  • Housing listings: Realtor.com's weekly housing report on Oct 22 said the number of homes for sale is growing at its fastest pace compared with a year ago since late January, and asking prices keep slipping. Its economists blamed high mortgage rates for keeping buyers out. In markets piling up unsold homes, expect move-in demand to stay slow through year-end.

Dates to watch

  • Oct 27: Census new home sales and advance durable goods reports for September

  • Oct 27: EIA weekly diesel price report

  • Oct 30: Comments due on USTR's port-fee proposal, 5 p.m. Eastern

  • Nov 5: Proposed schedule due in the IEEPA refund class case

  • Nov 9: Current port-fee suspension ends unless USTR finalizes its proposal

  • Jan 9, 2027: End of USTR's proposed port-fee suspension

Bottom line

Customers are wary of big purchases because of rates, and they don't expect rates to help them soon. On costs, mattress duties are staying, while port fees and ocean rates may ease a little. Sell the monthly payment, make your best terms easy to find, and keep orders tied to the traffic you're actually seeing.

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