It’s been a busy summer of industry markets and shows, starting in Dallas in June, moving on to Atlanta and Las Vegas in July, and finishing up in New York in August. Buyers and sellers gathered to schmooze and make deals, some doing last-minute business for the fourth quarter, others talking about the first half of 2025—around that proverbial corner when things always promise to be better.

For all, there were certain conversations that kept coming up.

Tough Sledding
Business remains challenging. The bigger the product, the harder it is to sell. Furniture appears to be the worst-off of any of the key home furnishings categories, but decor and accessories have also struggled, and even the land of $14.99 tchotchkes has recently slowed down. Retailers and vendors remain optimistic about the holiday selling season, though those with their calendars out know this year is one of the shortest spans between Thanksgiving and Christmas possible. Thankfully, with seasonal shopping starting sooner than ever, that may matter less than it historically has.

Freight Rates
Shipping and freight charges are once again getting attention. A problem that many thought they were done with—getting goods from point A (Asia) to point B (American retail shelves)—is turning into an issue once more. Higher-priced shipping containers, global conflict in the Middle East, climate-related issues at the Panama Canal and looming labor unrest across many parts of North America are all contributing to higher stress—and prices—among importers. Yet compared to the supply-chain meltdown of 2021-2023, this is relatively mild and some are suggesting the problems may be peaking this month as the holiday shipping loads begin to lessen.

Rising Prices
Inflation, while coming down, is still of major concern. This is another situation where the worst may be over, but rising prices are still impacting shopper mindsets. Those in the business wonder how long resistance to higher retail prices will last. Chances are, they are about to find out over the next 90 days.

Politics as Unusual
November 5, the date of the presidential election, is the ultimate wild card even as most hope the results will have a settling effect on the country’s purchasing psyche. That’s usually the case in previous national election years, but the usual doesn’t seem to apply much in 2024. The possibility of a contested election is still spooking some in the retail business.

What wasn’t talked about much was a topic that had been a hot one only a year or two ago: the future of in-person markets. Markets and shows remain an important part of the buying process and no amount of digital, virtual or otherworldly activity seems likely to replace them. The summer shows are always less well-attended then their winter counterparts, and that remained the case this season, but an unscientific count showed them no better or worse than their pre-Covid versions.

Across the show circuit, most markets held true to form. Shoppe Object’s twin-located shows in New York seemed to be particularly strong, with what show organizers said was “a 13 percent increase in exhibitors and a 10 percent increase in unique buyer attendance as compared to last year.” In 2025 the show will move to a new single location, still to be announced, that is reported to be closer to the NY Now show at the Javits convention center. That show continues to add to its fashion, jewelry and accessories representation, augmenting its gift and home base.

In Atlanta, the Casual Market continues to bolster the gift and home show. Now in its second year at AmericasMart, it has built a base of retailer attendees, even as the main casual furniture market for specialty retailers in the field remains in September. The Mart said its reorganization of its temp exhibitors made for a more convenient show for buyers.

Dallas has been developing its interior design exhibitor base while offering a record number of expanded and newly located gift and home decor companies. The strength of the Texas economy has been a positive for the Dallas Market Center, even as it has had success drawing in larger numbers of attendees from outside its traditional geographic base.

And Las Vegas (the one market I did not attend in person) remains a mix of furniture, mattress, and gift and home exhibitors as show organizers work to fill in across all of those categories. Show traffic continues to draw primarily from retailers west of the Mississippi.

With the summer circuit wrapped up, attention turns to the big fall events, led by High Point Market in October, but also including home textiles and tabletop markets in New York in September and October, respectively. By then, the industry will have a much better fix on holiday business, and perhaps how the first quarter or two of 2025 will shape up.

That’s the thing about the home and gift business: There’s always another show coming along any day now.

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Warren Shoulberg is the former editor in chief for several leading B2B publications. He has been a guest lecturer at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business; received honors from the International Furnishings and Design Association and the Fashion Institute of Technology; and been cited by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and other media as a leading industry expert. His Retail Watch columns offer deep industry insights on major markets and product categories.