High-income consumers remain positive about their own financial situations and plan to purchase home furnishings at a much higher rate than other groups. That’s good news for interior designers.
By Julie A. Palm
The latest exclusive Consumer Insights Now research has positive news for interior designers, whose clients are largely high earners. High-income consumers are feeling good about their own financial situations — and plan to spend more on home furnishings this year than lower-income groups.
More than three-quarters of high earners — households making $150,000 or more a year — say their own financial situation is excellent or good, according to the CIN research. Another 21% rate their finances as fair and only 2% say their finances are terrible or poor.
That’s a net positive of 75 points for high-income consumers. By contrast, the net positive for consumers earning less than $150,000 is just 45 points, the research shows.
CIN research is conducted twice a year on behalf of Design News Now and its sister publications, Home News Now, Casual News Now, Bedding News Now and Lighting News Now. This spring’s round, sponsored by Bread Financial, focuses on high-income consumers, including their furniture shopping plans and preferences. (About one-quarter of American households have annual incomes above $150,000.) Next week, we’ll dive into these consumers’ attitudes about working with interior designers.
The latest CIN survey supports what we’ve been hearing anecdotally from many interior designers who say that, while business may have slowed from the home improvement boom brought on the Covid-19 pandemic, it remains strong, with plenty of projects in the pipeline. The survey is also in line with reports of a K-shaped economy, where upper-income brackets are faring much better than lower-income brackets.
Some analysts note that the U.S. economy may be evolving into an E shape, with middle-income consumers pulling back spending. But even in that scenario, high earners are doing well. A recent Moody Analytics report shows the top 20% of earners account for all U.S. consumer spending. “This top tier (of earners) that’s doing really well, that’s driving a lot of the consumption,” Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, recently told CNBC.
In fact, 30% of high-income consumers in the CIN survey say their personal finances are better than last year, with 59% saying they are about the same. Only 11% of high earners report their finances are in worse shape than last year.
These consumers aren’t as stressed about inflation as others. Only 35% of those earning $150,000 a year say they are very concerned about rising prices. By comparison, about half of those earning less than $150,000 are very concerned about inflation.
The latest round of CIN research shows that high earners’ optimism about their own finances is translating to spending on home furnishings. Notably, high-income consumers plan to purchase three home furnishings products in 2026 and plan to spend $5,000 in total, according to the survey. That’s 1.7 times more than households earning less than $150,000.
In general, these consumers maintain a pretty good clip when it comes to refreshing their homes. Some 36% say they redesign their homes every two to four years and 58% say they do it every five years or more. Another 6% say their homes get an update every year.
About the research
This spring’s CIN research surveyed 825 U.S. consumers with annual household incomes of $150,000 a year who have purchased or plan to purchase home furnishings in 2026. The survey was fielded in February.
Veteran consumer researcher Dana French conducts the CIN surveys, and compiles and analyzes the results. This spring, detailed results are being released every Monday from March 23-April 20. The spring CIN research is sponsored by Bread Financial
Featured image created with ChatGPT
