Amazon Gains in Home Furnishings as Walmart’s Market Share Declines, Data Shows

The home furnishings market is witnessing a shift, with Amazon gaining ground while Walmart struggles to maintain its share.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Walmart or Amazon: Where Do Consumers Spend ‘Fun’ Money?” found that Amazon increased its share of the home furnishings market, accounting for 18.9% in 2024, up from 17.5% in 2023, marking a 102% rise from 9.2% in 2019.

In contrast, Walmart is experiencing a decline in its home furniture sales, with its market share dropping 25% over the past five years, from 9.5% in 2019 to 7.1% in 2024. Despite efforts to attract younger consumers through trendy collaborations and designs, such as with Better Homes & Gardens and The Pioneer Woman, Walmart’s home furnishings strategy has not reversed the downward trend in its sales.

“There is almost nothing in home furnishings that cannot be purchased on Amazon, so it is not surprising that it has become more of a magnet for shoppers,” Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at research firm GlobalData, told PYMNTS in an interview. “Walmart has struggled because a lot of its core customers have been very constrained by inflation and have not been buying as much general merchandise, including home furnishings.”

Meanwhile, Greg Zakowicz, senior eCommerce expert at Omnisend, told PYMNTS that consumers seek value with their purchases.

“While this behavior shift benefited both Walmart and Amazon, it underscores the fact consumers are price shopping to save money as much as ever,” he said. “The [products] between the two companies [are] similar, and brand name furniture is mostly a thing of the past, meaning price and convenience often win out. This, in my opinion, benefits Amazon.”

Zakowicz said a shift in the past five years is due to several factors.

“First, the lack of brand name furniture in the market combined with an influx of inexpensive foreign-made products that flooded marketplaces like Amazon made Amazon an attractive site for price comparison,” he said. “Let’s also not forget the impact COVID had on this trajectory. As online shopping became the de facto and home improvement projects accelerated during that time, Amazon was a true winner. I believe these factors made Amazon a primary destination for furniture shoppers.”

Here’s a look at other developments this week from Amazon and Walmart.

Amazon Highlights

Amazon Launches Visual Search Features

Amazon announced Monday (March 3) that it has introduced several new visual search features over the last few months to enhance the user shopping experience. The new features have led to a 70% year-over-year increase in visual searches.

Customers can use visual suggestions, add text to image searches for more specific results, and launch Amazon Lens directly from their lock screens to make shopping more interactive. Other features include a “More Like This” option for finding similar items, product videos in search results, and the ability to circle and search specific items within an image.

Amazon Invests $35 Billion in AI and Automation

Amazon is prioritizing artificial intelligence and automation to drive efficiency in its retail operations, with a planned $35 billion investment in its retail network, including robotics-powered warehouses.

The company aims to improve delivery speeds and cut costs, with automation already delivering savings at its Shreveport, Louisiana, fulfillment center, where costs were reduced by 25% after increasing robotics use. While most of its $100 billion annual spending will be allocated to AI, about 25% will be directed toward automation in eCommerce.

Walmart Highlights

Walmart CEO Warns of Consumer Strain Amid High Food Prices

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said he is concerned about the financial stress U.S. consumers are facing as food prices remain high, with some shoppers running out of money before the end of the month and opting for smaller pack sizes, Bloomberg reported in February.

Despite prices for apparel returning to pre-pandemic levels, food prices, including eggs and beef, continue to strain budgets. McMillon said consumer behavior has remained consistent, with shoppers prioritizing value, per the report. He expressed concern over the ongoing impact of inflation on low-income households and the broader challenges retailers face due to rising costs and uncertainty in the economy.

Walmart’s Projected Growth Slows Amid Tariff Concerns

Walmart, the largest U.S. importer of containerized goods, generates 40% of its sales from discretionary items like clothing, electronics, and toys, which are primarily sourced from countries affected by new tariffs, including China and India. For 2025, analysts predict Walmart’s revenue growth will slow to 4%, reflecting concerns over tariffs, Reuters reported in February.

Brian Mulberry, a portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management, which invests in Walmart, plans to evaluate the impact of the tariffs by monitoring Walmart’s Great Value brand, per the report. More than 70% of the household and generic non-food products sold under the brand, such as electronics and sporting goods, come from China.

During Walmart’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey projected sales growth between 3% and 4%, below analyst projections, as rising costs and uncertainties around U.S. tariffs weigh on consumer purchasing power.