How Australians Shop for Furniture: The Online vs In-Store

Walk into any Australian furniture store today, and you'll notice something interesting. While customers are browsing the showroom floor, many are simultaneously checking their phones – comparing prices, reading reviews, or saving items to their wishlist. This perfectly captures how dramatically our furniture shopping habits have evolved.

I've been tracking this shift for years, and the numbers tell a fascinating story. Right now, about 25-30% of Australian furniture sales happen online, while 70-75% still occur in traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Compare that to just five years ago when online barely scraped 15-20% of the market, and you can see how much has changed.

The pandemic obviously accelerated this transformation – at one point, online furniture sales actually hit 40-45% of the market when everyone was stuck at home. But here's what's really interesting: even as stores reopened, online sales didn't completely revert to pre-pandemic levels. We've settled into this new normal where digital shopping has permanently claimed a bigger slice of the pie.

The Numbers That Matter

Let me share the key statistics that paint the current picture:

• Online furniture sales: 25-30% of total market share (2024)
• In-store furniture sales: 70-75% of total market share (2024)
• Online furniture market value: $2.95 billion annually
• Total furniture market value: $10.86 billion (2024)
• Online market growth: 2.0% increase in 2024 after previous declines
• Omnichannel shoppers: 50% of consumers browse online before purchasing in-store

These figures come from Red Search, TechSci Research, and IBISWorld

Why Online Sales Are Growing (But Not Taking Over)

The online furniture market in Australia is worth nearly $3 billion annually now. That's not pocket change. But what's driving this growth isn't just convenience – it's the way we've learned to shop.

Take my neighbor Sarah, for example. She spent weeks researching dining tables online, reading reviews, comparing prices across different retailers. But when it came time to actually buy? She drove to the store to see the wood grain and test the table's stability. She's not unusual – about 50% of furniture shoppers now browse online before making their final purchase decision in-store.

This "research online, purchase offline" behavior explains why physical stores still dominate with their 70-75% market share, worth around $7.5-8 billion annually. There's something about furniture that makes us want to touch it, sit on it, or at least see it in person before we commit.

The Pandemic's Lasting Impact

COVID-19 was like a massive forced experiment in online furniture shopping. Suddenly, people who had never considered buying a sofa online were doing exactly that. Online sales jumped to 40-45% of the total market during lockdowns – a spike that seemed almost impossible before 2020.

What's happened since restrictions lifted is equally telling. Online sales dropped back down, but not to their original levels. We've stabilized at 25-30%, which suggests that many people discovered they actually liked aspects of online furniture shopping, even if they prefer stores for certain purchases.

The shift has been most dramatic in cities like Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, where online penetration now sits at 30-35% of furniture sales. In regional areas, it's more like 20-25%, partly due to delivery challenges and a stronger preference for supporting local businesses.

Different Furniture, Different Shopping Habits

Not all furniture categories are created equal when it comes to online vs in-store preferences. The patterns are quite logical when you think about it.

Small items like lamps and decorative pieces? Online sales capture 45-50% of these purchases. Makes sense – they're easy to ship, relatively low-risk, and often impulse buys.

Bedroom furniture does surprisingly well online too, with 35-40% of sales happening digitally. Bed frames have standardized dimensions, and mattress companies have gotten creative with sleep trials that let you test at home.

But try buying a sofa online, and you're in the minority. Only 15-20% of upholstered furniture sales happen online. People want to sit on that couch, feel the fabric, and make sure it's actually comfortable before spending thousands of dollars.

Large furniture like wardrobes and entertainment units? Even tougher sell online, with just 10-15% of sales happening digitally. The delivery complexity alone is enough to send most people to the showroom.

What Shoppers Actually Want

I've looked at consumer research, and the reasons people choose online or in-store are pretty straightforward.

Online shoppers love the convenience (78% cite this as a top reason) and the ability to easily compare prices (65%). They also appreciate the wider selection – you can access brands that might not have physical stores in your area.

In-store shoppers, on the other hand, want to physically inspect products (82% say this is crucial) and get immediate availability for smaller items (67%). Many also value expert advice – having someone who knows furniture help you make the right choice.

Interestingly, age plays a role, but not as dramatically as you might expect. Yes, 25-45 year-olds are the heaviest online furniture buyers, but plenty of older Australians have embraced digital shopping too, especially for research purposes.

How Retailers Are Adapting

The smart retailers have figured out that this isn't an either-or situation. Companies like Harvey Norman, Fantastic Furniture, and IKEA are investing heavily in omnichannel approaches. They're letting customers order online for in-store pickup, providing tablets in showrooms for extended browsing, and maintaining unified inventory systems.

Some pure-play online retailers are thriving by focusing on specific niches or offering competitive pricing thanks to lower overheads. But they're dealing with higher return rates – around 30% for furniture purchases, compared to much lower rates for in-store sales.

Traditional brick-and-mortar stores aren't sitting still either. They're enhancing their digital presence, using AR technology to help customers visualize furniture in their homes, and focusing on creating experiential retail environments that online simply can't match.

Looking Ahead

Where is this all heading? The projections suggest online sales will continue growing, possibly reaching 35-40% of the market by 2030. But I don't think we'll see physical stores disappear – they're too valuable for the types of purchases furniture represents.

Technology will play a bigger role, with AR and VR making online furniture shopping more confident. We're already seeing apps that let you place virtual furniture in your actual room using your phone's camera. As these tools improve, the barrier between online and in-store shopping will continue to blur.

Sustainability is also becoming a factor. More Australians are thinking about furniture longevity and environmental impact, which might actually favor in-store shopping where you can better assess quality and durability.

The Bottom Line

The Australian furniture market has found its new equilibrium. Online shopping has carved out a permanent 25-30% share, but physical stores remain the preferred choice for most furniture purchases. This isn't likely to change dramatically – furniture is simply too personal, too expensive, and too important to our daily lives for purely digital shopping to dominate.

The winners in this market are retailers who understand that modern customers want options. They might research online, visit a showroom, order digitally, and pick up in-store. The shopping journey is no longer linear, and successful furniture retailers are building their businesses around this new reality.

Whether you're a furniture retailer planning your strategy or a consumer trying to understand your options, the key insight is simple: the future of furniture shopping is about choice and flexibility, not about online replacing offline or vice versa. Both channels have their place, and smart businesses are making sure they excel at both.

Sources: Red Search, TechSci Research, IBISWorld, YouGov, Shopify Australia, Zolak Tech, Next MSC, Australian Bureau of Statistics