While the post-presidential-election jolt that sustained many flooring retailers through the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025 has eased somewhat, dealers say business conditions overall are mostly trending in the right direction—this despite persistently high mortgage interest rates.
“Following the election, we noticed an immediate uptick in traffic, although it was quickly followed by our typical holiday slowdown,” said Bruce Odette, president of The Carpet Exchange, with 17 locations in the Denver market. “However, since the holidays, traffic has been better than usual for this time of the year. We’re experiencing a 7% growth trend for the first part of the year, which aligns with economic forecasts predicting stronger sales heading into 2025.”
Many dealers say they are encouraged by consumer interest in home improvement projects, with strong inquiries from both homeowners and contractors.
For some, the momentum began three months ago. “Being in a red state (Idaho), the election was one of the biggest consumer confidence booms I can recall,” said Casey Dillabaugh, president of Dillabaugh’s Flooring America, Boise. “Traffic is up, sales are up and there isn’t currently a murmur of a near-term slowdown. While the industry and our area were down last year, we managed modest growth primarily by capitalizing on internal cross-department synergies and taking some market share. The moves we’ve made the last two years have positioned us for what we believe will be an incredible year.”
Idaho may represent the rosiest of prognostications; others have taken their level of enthusiasm down a notch. For example, flooring retailers located near Washington, D.C., may be concerned that talk of mass layoffs and buyouts impacting federal workers—already taking place—will put a damper on business. “We’re still strong here; however, the pace has slowed post-inauguration,” said Adam Joss, owner of The Vertical Connection Carpet One Floor & Home, Columbia, Md. “Being in the D.C. market, I suspect federal workers, contractors and related workers have some pause.”
In Houston, store traffic and leads are up, yet it has not translated into written orders yet, according to Tom Connell, president of M&M Carpet Showroom. “We can only attribute it to customers being more cautious about the direction of the and how the current changes will manifest in the market,” Connell said.
The salvation for Abbey Carpets Unlimited, Napa, Calif., was a strong push in large commercial projects that offset an otherwise slow start to 2025, according to Janice Clifton, owner. “The residential remodel market seems to still be a bit soft,” she said. “We are dependent on people buying and selling homes for this market and that is not happening because of consistent high mortgage interest rates.”
Now is the time to invest
During a January address to 1,200 retailers at the CCA Global convention, ITR Economics’ Connor Lokar, a senior forecaster, said ITR’s research suggests 2025 will be an improvement over 2024 and that 2026 will be better than 2025. His message to flooring dealers: now is the time to invest in your business.
Several retailers who listened to that address have heeded the advice. “Looking ahead, we’re positioning ourselves for growth in 2025 in line with ITR Economics’ forecast,” said Aaron Johnson, president of Johnson & Sons Flooring, Knoxville, Tenn. “We’re focusing on strategic investments in digital marketing to enhance our online presence and attract more customers. Additionally, we are expanding our product offerings to ensure we stay competitive and meet evolving customer demands. We also recognize the importance of streamlining operations to improve efficiency and customer experience, so we’re evaluating ways to optimize logistics and inventory management.”
Investing in people more so than infrastructure seems to be a common theme among flooring dealers. As Connell noted, “We expanded our sales force last fall in anticipation of a better economic environment in 2025. By jumping on it a little early, we were able to allow more training time for our personnel to be ready for the uptick. We also added a tile and countertop specialist to grow that segment of our sales mix.”
Dealers stare down challenges
“As the housing industry goes, so goes the flooring industry,” is a maxim that some executives cite regarding the state of flooring. Based on today’s figures—with 30-year fixed mortgage rates hovering around 7%—that would indicate a stagnant market for flooring sales.
And yet, many dealers did not reference mortgage rates as their No. 1 concern. Dillabaugh, for example, said the rising cost of homeowners’ insurance was his biggest bugaboo. “With the inflationary pressures of the last few years, insurance carriers are now catching up to years of loss and passing that onto the consumer,” he said.”
Aaron Johnson said consumer confidence is his biggest concern. “Rising material costs due to tariffs or supply chain disruptions could impact pricing, which may make some customers hesitant to move forward with larger projects. In fact, we’ve already seen price hikes this year. We’re keeping a close eye on these factors and adapting accordingly.”
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