Over the past several years, the furniture industry has faced not one but two distinct waves of supply chain disruption. The first struck in 2020–2021, driven by a global pandemic that shuttered factories, jammed ports, and sent consumer demand soaring all at once. The second began in 2025, as the Trump administration imposed sweeping tariffs on imported furniture and wood products, reshaping sourcing strategies, pricing, and the competitive landscape for domestic manufacturers.
In this article, we’ll walk through both disruptions, what caused them, and, most importantly, what home furnishings retailers can do to navigate the challenges and continue delivering exceptional customer service.
Part One: The COVID-Era Supply Chain Collapse (2020–2021)
What Caused It?
1) Congested Ports in California
One of the primary bottlenecks during this period was the staggering congestion at California’s ports. In the second half of 2020, nearly one million shipments were processed through those ports – about 50% more than in the first half of the year. The Port of Los Angeles alone reported taking in 94% more imports than the previous year. With demand for home furnishings exploding as consumers upgraded their living spaces during lockdowns, the ports simply couldn’t keep up.
2) Shortage of Trucks and Drivers
Even when goods made it through the ports, getting them to stores was another challenge. The number of available truck drivers declined just as demand surged. Overseas manufacturers kept producing and shipping products, but there weren’t enough drivers or trucks to move them from port to warehouse to showroom floor.
3) Soaring Container Prices and New Factory Shutdowns
Container prices continued to climb through 2021, and retailers began pushing back – some opting to pass on certain containers entirely when quotes got too high. Then, in mid-2021, COVID-19 outbreaks forced significant production halts in Vietnam, which had recently surpassed China as the leading source of U.S. furniture imports. The Home Furnishings Association (HFA) reached out directly to the White House to seek relief, as cancellations, returns, and chargebacks began posing serious cash flow problems for retailers.
Part Two: The Tariff Wave (2025–Present)
What Caused It?
Just as the industry had largely stabilized from the COVID-era disruptions, a new challenge arrived: a broad set of tariffs on imported furniture and wood products introduced by the Trump administration.
1) Reciprocal Tariffs on Major Source Countries (Early 2025)
In early 2025, the Trump administration rolled out “reciprocal tariffs” targeting countries that charge high duties on U.S. goods. For the furniture industry – which sources roughly 60% of imports from Vietnam and China – the impact was significant. Vietnam faced a 46% tariff rate, China an additional 34% on top of already-existing levies, and even the EU was subject to a 20% rate. The stated goal was to incentivize U.S. manufacturing and address trade imbalances, but the immediate effect was cost pressure up and down the supply chain.
2) Section 232 Tariffs on Wood and Furniture (October 2025)
In September 2025, President Trump signed a proclamation invoking Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act – a national security provision – to impose tariffs on wood products and derivative goods. Effective October 14, 2025, upholstered wooden furniture (couches, sofas, chairs) incurred a 25% tariff, kitchen cabinets and vanities a 25% tariff, and softwood lumber a 10% duty. Select trading partners received carve-outs: the UK faces a 10% rate, while Japan and the EU face 15%.
Planned increases to 30% and 50% respectively were originally set for January 1, 2026 – but on December 31, 2025, the administration announced a one-year delay while trade negotiations continue. As of early 2026, the 25% tariff rate remains in effect.
3) The Price Impact on Consumers
The cost pressures are already visible on store shelves and in government data. Overall furniture prices have risen 4.7% since August 2024, with living room and dining room furniture up 9.5%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A UBS report warned that new wood product tariffs could add roughly $1,000 to the average cost of building a home, on top of $8,000 in tariff costs home builders have already absorbed.
How Home Furnishings Retailers Can Adapt
Whether facing a pandemic-driven supply crunch or a tariff-driven cost surge, the underlying challenge for retailers is the same: how do you keep customers happy and your business healthy when the supply chain is working against you? Here’s what the most resilient retailers have done – and are doing right now.
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Double Down on Customer Communication
You may not be able to control what happens at the ports or in Washington, but you can control how you communicate. Whether the issue is a six-week backorder due to port congestion or a price adjustment due to tariffs, proactive communication is what keeps customers from canceling orders and – more importantly – turns a difficult experience into a demonstration of your integrity as a retailer.Some retailers during the COVID era went as far as providing rental furniture to customers waiting on long lead-time orders, giving them something tangible to hold the sale. That spirit of creative problem-solving applies just as well today: be transparent about pricing changes driven by tariffs, explain the “why,” and customers will often respond with understanding and loyalty.
- Prioritize American-Made and Near-Shore Products
This strategy, which gained traction during the COVID years to avoid port congestion and container scarcity, has become even more financially compelling under the current tariff regime. Domestically manufactured furniture is entirely insulated from import duties, and near-shore options from Mexico and Canada arrive via truck – bypassing container costs altogether.
Brands like Vaughan Bassett Furniture and International Furniture Direct (IFD), which manufactures in the U.S. and Mexico and operates four U.S. warehouses, are well positioned for the current environment. Retailers that built relationships with domestic producers during the 2020–2021 crunch are now finding those same suppliers are a buffer against tariff-driven price hikes on imports.
- Diversify Your Supplier Base – Strategically
The COVID era taught retailers the danger of over-relying on a single sourcing region (China, then Vietnam). The tariff era reinforces that lesson. Retailers should actively map out which of their suppliers are subject to the highest tariff rates and look for comparable products from countries with lower exposure – including UK and EU suppliers (subject to lower 10–15% tariff caps), or domestic makers.
One platform built specifically for this kind of diversification is GigaCloud Marketplace – a B2B ecommerce platform connecting furniture retailers with over 16,000 SKUs of large-parcel goods from a global network of suppliers, with no minimum order quantities. GigaCloud has been deliberately reshaping its own supply chain away from China: today, more than 50% of its first-party inventory for the U.S. market comes from Southeast Asia, and it has actively added sellers from Mexico, Colombia, Turkey, and other lower-tariff regions to give resellers more sourcing flexibility.
In December 2025, GigaCloud acquired New Classic Home Furnishings for $18 million, a U.S.-based distributor with 25 years of history, over 2,000 active SKUs, and more than 1,000 brick-and-mortar retailer customers. New Classic sources less than 3% of its products from China, making the acquisition a direct play for tariff resilience. For independent furniture retailers, GigaCloud’s marketplace represents exactly the kind of diversified, ready-to-ship sourcing channel that can reduce dependence on any single country or trade policy.
- Lean Into Ready-to-Assemble (RTA) and Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Options
RTA furniture ships in flat packs via parcel (UPS, FedEx) rather than LTL freight, making it faster and less logistically complex. The ready-to-assemble segment has grown rapidly as companies invested in domestic production capacity and expanded their offerings. Today, RTA also carries a potential tariff advantage: products assembled domestically from components may face different (and potentially lower) duty classifications than finished imported goods.
Ashley Furniture’s acquisition of a dedicated RTA facility and its “Direct Express” DTC shipping program spanning thousands of SKUs is a signal of where the industry is heading. DTC options also reduce delivery time by shipping directly to the consumer. Homestyles, Flexsteel’s dedicated DTC brand, is a strong example of this model.
- Get Creative With Inventory Sourcing
The COVID era produced some genuinely inventive approaches to keeping showroom floors stocked. One retailer drove their own vehicles to buy overstock from other independent furniture stores and bulk retailers. Another built a social media campaign to pick up DTC returns from consumers’ doorsteps – turning Amazon and Wayfair returns into same-day resale inventory.
This kind of resourcefulness is just as valuable today. In a tariff-pressured environment, excess inventory sitting in domestic warehouses – whether at manufacturers, wholesalers, or other retailers – represents a cost-effective sourcing opportunity. The furniture that’s already here doesn’t carry import duties.
Expand Your Inventory With the Endless Aisle Kiosk From Wonder
Across both the COVID disruptions and today’s tariff challenges, one theme has emerged consistently: retailers who can quickly pivot their catalog – swapping in domestic products, near-shore alternatives, or RTA options as conditions change – outperform those locked into static assortments.
Wonder’s catalog kiosk app is an “endless aisle” solution that gives retailers exactly that flexibility. It allows you to build a custom catalog of in-stock and available products, pulling live inventory from 85+ manufacturer and brand partners – spanning furniture, bedding, mattresses, and accessories. Whether you’re prioritizing American-made goods, near-shore options, RTA lines, or DTC programs, Wondersign has the partners and the platform to reflect that strategy in real time.
One Wonder customer in Denver, CO leaned heavily on their kiosk during the COVID supply crunch – relying on it for nearly 90% of sales and operating almost entirely on special orders. Their monthly sales reached $200,000, compared to under $50,000 at a comparable location without the kiosk.
Learn more about overcoming supply chain and inventory issues, or connect with a member of our team today.
