Raymond James reported that mattress and furniture sales climbed roughly 1% to 2% during the Memorial Day weekend, based on channel checks the firm completed in recent days with private retailers and other industry participants around the country. The firm's outreach found that bedding outperformed the wider furniture segment over the holiday promotional period.
The research noted a softening in business trends through April and into early May before Memorial Day promotions kicked in, indicating that consumers are remaining selective and largely promotion-driven given the prevailing macroeconomic backdrop. Despite that earlier softness, Raymond James said second-quarter sales to date are tracking ahead of the first-quarter industry trends.
Across bedding and furniture, Memorial Day promotional intensity was generally stable to modestly higher year-over-year, though the firm emphasized significant variance by brand and retailer. Specific brand-level observations included:
- Tempur Sealy International (NYSE: TPX) - Promotional activity for Tempur-Pedic was largely consistent with last year on a total dollars-off basis.
- Sleep Number Corporation (NASDAQ: SNBR) - Sleep Number was less promotional from a dollars-off perspective and reduced the duration of its 0% financing offers year-over-year.
- Purple Innovation (PRPL) - Purple was less promotional year-over-year across its lower-priced mattress lineup and financing offers, although promotional activity increased within its Rejuvenate collection.
Furniture promotions at the retailers tracked by Raymond James were generally higher or consistent compared with the prior year.
The firm also highlighted that ongoing commodity cost inflation is expected to place upward pressure on retail prices in the months ahead. Raymond James called out specific areas of incremental cost pressure - foam, chemicals, freight and fuel - as likely contributors to higher retail ticket prices. In line with that backdrop, Raymond James noted that Tempur Sealy International is targeting price increases following the July 4 promotional period.
The picture presented by the checks is one of modest holiday-season demand improvement paired with divergent promotional strategies among key industry participants and looming input-cost pressures that could affect prices for consumers later in the summer.
Sources of data: Channel checks with private retailers and industry participants nationwide conducted by Raymond James.