Competition among furniture and interior brands is intensifying as they vie to capture demand during the spring moving season, the year's peak period.
With high interest rates and rising prices weighing on consumers, price has emerged as the most important factor in furniture purchases. As a result, the industry is expected to continue aggressive marketing competition, including large-scale discount events.
According to an analysis by NewenAI, an artificial intelligence (AI) trend analysis firm, online consumer perceptions of 10 domestic comprehensive furniture and home furnishing brands generated a total of 1,509,959 furniture-related mentions between January 1 and March 31 this year. The figure represents a 56.7% increase from the same period last year.
The industry attributes the rise to a recovery in consumer sentiment driven by improved corporate earnings and rising incomes, despite external uncertainties such as conflicts in the Middle East. According to the Credit Finance Research Institute of the Credit Finance Association's "Q1 2026 Card Approval Performance Analysis," total card approval amounts in the first quarter of this year reached 322.1 trillion won, up 7.2% year-on-year.
NewenAI analyzed 2,473,659 pieces of furniture-related online big data through its AI trend analysis platform "Quettai." The company said the analysis comprehensively reflected related keywords and unstructured colloquial data based on AI contextual analysis.
The analysis showed that consumers prioritize price and design over functionality or materials when purchasing furniture.
A keyword analysis of furniture-related terms found that consumer interest broke down as follows: price (29.6%), design (28.9%), material (21.8%), after-sales service (11.6%), and function (8.0%).
By brand, IKEA recorded the highest mention volume at 62,401, followed by Hanssem (24,471), iloom (8,320), Shinsegae Casa (5,657), and Hyundai Livart (5,489).
Of IKEA's mentions, 72.2% offered positive assessments of its Nordic-inspired design, showroom experience, and strong value for money. Meanwhile, 8.7% cited difficult assembly, durability issues, and the fact that, when delivery fees are included, prices are not significantly different from domestic brands as major points of dissatisfaction.
For Hanssem, positive evaluations accounted for 55%, citing the brand's long-accumulated trust and its custom production and installation capabilities. On the negative side (7.5%), consumers pointed to higher prices compared to competitors, installation delays, and quality variations in finishing depending on the skill level of installation technicians.
Shinsegae Casa drew praise for the comfort of hit products such as the "Campo Sofa" and its sophisticated modern design. Positive mentions reached 82.4%, the highest among major brands, while negative mentions stood at 3.1%, the lowest. However, some consumers cited poor value for money, long wait times for popular products, and delivery delays as drawbacks.
Hyundai Livart's positive mention share was 57.4%. The Hyundai Department Store Group's brand recognition, more youthful designs, eco-friendly material quality, and strong preference among newlyweds were analyzed as positive factors. On the negative side (9.1%), consumers cited higher prices compared to competitors and difficulty connecting with after-sales service representatives.
