Tariffs Continue to Pressure Consumer Spending, Impacting Furniture

Originally published September 15, 2025. This version was rebuilt from the University of Michigan survey, the BLS August consumer price index and Bed Bath & Beyond's announcement for the FIN archive, and the facts are as of that date.

Mid-September 2025 brought fresh evidence that tariffs were weighing on how people felt about spending. A home brand also changed hands in a small deal that hinted at how retail names are being reused.

The short version

• The University of Michigan's preliminary sentiment index fell to 55.4 from 58.2.
• The BLS said furniture and bedding prices were up 4.7% from a year earlier in August.
• Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. bought the Kirkland's Home brand assets for $10 million.

Sentiment slides again

The University of Michigan's preliminary September reading of 55.4 was down from 58.2 in August. About 60% of consumers brought up tariffs on their own during interviews, and expectations for their personal finances weakened.

Shoppers who expect prices to keep rising and money to stay tight tend to delay furniture, which they can usually put off.

Furniture prices climb

The BLS consumer price report released September 11 showed overall prices up 0.4% in August and 2.9% over 12 months. Furniture was rising faster. The index for furniture and bedding was up 4.7% from August 2024.

The increase was concentrated in imported categories. Living room, kitchen and dining room furniture prices were up 9.5% over the year, while bedroom furniture was up just 0.1%. Higher shelf prices on upholstery and dining sets gave shoppers one more reason to wait, which matched what the sentiment survey was picking up.

Kirkland's Home changes hands

Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. announced the $10 million purchase of the Kirkland's Home brand assets from The Brand House Collective. The company planned to carry the Kirkland's Home name into wholesale, while Brand House kept converting its stores to Bed Bath & Beyond Home.

Brands outlast stores

Consumers were cautious, and furniture prices were rising faster than prices overall. Familiar brand names still carried value, even when the stores behind them were changing.

Related on FIN

• Furniture Shoppers Are Holding Back
• Every Door in Town

Sources

• University of Michigan, Surveys of Consumers, preliminary September 2025
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, August 2025 (Sept. 11, 2025)
• Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc., Completes $10 million acquisition of Kirkland's Home brand assets