Few would argue that last year was tough for casual furnishings retail. Amid economic disruptions from tariffs and other factors, as well as less-than-favorable spring weather conditions in many regions, many patio stores felt lucky to have flat sales in 2025.
But things seem to be looking up. Though rising inflation, continued tariff pressure and a skirmish in the Middle East threatened to disrupt business again this year, many in the industry say they’ve been pleasantly surprised in 2026.
“We’ve actually had a very good season, so far,” said Eli Hymer, department manager and buyer, Gasper Landscape Design in Pennsylvania. “We were somewhat worried because we had colder weather and even snow still on the ground in March. It was a late takeoff, but it has been very successful — we’re up 20% over last year.”
Offenbachers Home Escapes — which has several locations in Maryland and Virginia — reported a similar experience with a slow start because of weather but strong sales as the season wore on.
“In March we had gains over last year,” said Eric Stalzer, director of operations, Offenbachers Home Escapes. “For April and May, we expected some gains, but we were pleasantly surprised with outstanding gains.”
Lindsay Lowe of Southeastern Kentucky Pool & Patio said their store sales also are up over last year. “Our sales have been strong this season,” she said. “I have been very pleased with demand and in-store traffic.”
Other retailers reported positive sales numbers, but those gains were based more on order size than the number of customers walking through the door.
“Sales have been good,” said Susan Kiley of Bay Breeze Patio in Miramar Beach, Florida. “I believe foot traffic is down, but the quality of orders is up. Right now we are running even to last year with a lot of large orders completing the second half, so I see us up for the year.”
Sissy Blanchard of Porch and Patio, which has two locations in coastal Georgia, said they’ve had a similar experience this season.
“While our numbers are tracking to last year, the number of sales (transactions) has been sluggish, and transactions are far exceeding the average dollar amount of previous years,” she said. “The vast majority of customers actually spending money are at the top of the K-shape economy. We’ve lost the buyer spending under $2,000. This is wreaking havoc on cash flow.”
At Sunnyland Outdoor Living’s stores in Dallas and Frisco, Texas, sales have been up and down but ultimately stronger than last year.
“Sales are up this year, and overall we have seen more business this year,” said Brad Schweig, vice president of operations, Sunnyland. “But it’s not consistent — some weekends we’ll have a great weekend, and others not so much.”
Popular Products
Customers have gravitated to a few key categories this season, with seating leading the charge at many stores.
“Sectionals in all materials are booming this year,” Kiley said. “Motion chairs are always booming for us.” She also said that outdoor kitchens and products made with composite materials have been strong sellers, as well.
Seating has been a big seller for Offenbachers Home Escapes, too. “We continue to see greater increases in seating over dining,” Stalzer said. “And earth tones are back, exceeding gray tones.”
Accessories also have been good sellers for some retailers. “The finishing touches have been especially popular this year,” Lowe said. “We’ve seen an uptick in outdoor pillows, custom umbrellas and accessory pieces.”
Other retailers have noticed buying trends around certain price points rather than particular product types.
“The higher end and the lower end of the spectrum seem to be doing well — it’s the middle that we struggle with more,” Schweig said. He noted that with tariff increases and general inflation, some middle-tier brands could end up pricing themselves out of business.
“With tariffs and inflation, some product, especially in that middle category — people just aren’t justifying the dollars for it anymore,” Schweig said. “Either they want to spend a little less and still get something good, or they’re looking for something where money’s no object. Those vendors in the middle are going to get squeezed.”
But while that’s the case in the more affluent Dallas market, Hymer said that in his area — northeastern Pennsylvania — the middle-price category is doing well.
“I’m going to cut back a bit on some of the higher-end price points and concentrate a little more on midlevel price points for 2027,” he said. “Brands that have sets that retail for $15,000-$25,000 — the MSRPs and the recent price increases of these manufacturers are concerning to me.”
Hymer said that while he’s keeping plenty of high end in the mix, with inflation making consumers more price-conscious, he wants to have a more approachable assortment.
“I will probably flip the floor for next year, and instead of coming in the door and seeing sets that are $18,000 or $20,000, I need to look at more value price points,” he said. “I think sometimes that high-end price scares people who come in to see what we’re about.”
Buying Decisions
As Casual Market approaches, outdoor retailers have important choices to make about which collections make the cut for 2027. Most of the retailers we spoke with plan to buy new lines, but they’re looking for standout designs along with additional pieces from existing collections in their inventory.
“The vast majority of our collections/selections for this year have performed very well — we will be looking to replace only about four to five sets,” Stalzer said. “We will look to expand the breadth of the collections that performed the best and look for new sets that really attract our attention.”
And while July market has traditionally been for early buys, some retailers said they’re not interested in that model or wish that manufacturers would approach it differently.
“We are not early-buy people,” Kiley said. “We buy all year long because our business is a strong year-round business. We wish manufacturers could catch on to the fact that dealers should be judged for what they do for the entire year — not one forced order.”
Blanchard agreed, saying her stores mostly focus on special order and don’t carry a lot of inventory.
“We will only do early buys for manufacturers that absolutely require them,” she said. “We will be asking for as many concessions to early buys as we can get.”
On the other hand, Schweig said his team will be at July Casual Market for early buys, reporting that they decided to skip that show last year after vendors told them they’d still have time for early-buy orders.
“We were told that July and September had the same opportunities — no early buy, no deadlines,” he said. “Then July market is over and it’s, ‘If you want the discount, the early-buy deadline is July 31 or August. We asked our vendors beforehand, and they said it wasn’t an issue, but we got burned. For some vendors, we had to place orders before we even went to September market to actually see the product.”
While Schweig said he understands the necessity of early buys for container orders, he noted that some vendors without container programs held him to early-buy deadlines last year.
“For that reason, we’re doing July market this year,” he said. “We don’t want to miss out on anything.”
