The rugs market
Size and forecast
Rugs are part of the broader category of home furnishings products. According to our latest study1 the European home furnishings market was valued at SEK 2,170 billion in 2019, with an average annual growth of 12.3% between 2015 and 2019. Within this category, carpets accounted for SEK 193 billion, equivalent to around 9% of the total market. E-commerce was estimated to account for 16% of sales, and our assessment is that this share increased to 18-20% during the pandemic years 2020 and 2021.
According to a more recent study from 2025 by Straits Research, online sales of rugs have grown faster than offline over the past five years, with an annual growth rate of 5.5% compared to 3.8% for traditional sales. The market for rugs ("area rugs") in Europe is estimated to be USD 13.7 billion, of which USD 4.9 billion is generated through online channels, which corresponds to 36% of total carpet sales online.
2025 was characterized by continued low economic activity with weak consumer confidence, despite the macro economy stabilizing somewhat compared to the previous year. Consumers' purchasing power was not affected to the same extent by rising interest rates or cost inflation, but households' caution and reluctance to make larger investments remained.
The outlook for 2026 is still uncertain despite positive macroeconomic indicators of lower inflation and interest rates. Consumer confidence is still weak and households appear to be cautious. Despite this, there are good growth opportunities in the medium to long term, thanks to the low e-commerce share in the rugs market, positive trends in the home furnishings category, and structural changes in the European carpet market.
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1 The study was conducted by Technavio, 2020, on behalf of Rugvista.
Market trends
The rugs market is largely inspired by and driven by the same trends and factors that influence the home furnishings market. These factors include, among other things, the desire for the home and home furnishings to reflect the individual's personality. This is a megatrend that we believe has been going on for the last 10-15 years in Europe and we expect it to continue in the foreseeable future.
Structural trends in the European rugs market
We are convinced that certain structural macro trends will also drive the transition from physical to digital carpet sales in Europe in the future. These trends are described in more detail below.
Accessibility and convenience
For many customers, digital commerce can mean a more accessible and convenient shopping experience compared to shopping in a physical store. General benefits of e-commerce include the ability to shop without being limited to store hours, the ability to shop remotely, and the ability to shop using different types of digital devices based on the buyer's preference (mobile, laptop, tablet).
Convenience factors include that a large assortment can be more easily organized and visualized digitally, that customers can easily search for products or services that meet their needs, access to fast and often free shipping, secure payment methods, and smooth return routines often without additional cost to the customer. Digital commerce also means that the customer can make their purchases without physically going to the store and handling the product. This is particularly valuable for relatively bulky and heavy goods such as rugs. Rugs are also a product that very rarely gets damaged during delivery, making it possible to distribute the products in good condition directly to the end customer's home.
Selection
By visiting a webshop, the visitor can quickly access a wide and relevant selection of rugs, which can be filtered based on a large number of different parameters. Webshops can generally offer a much wider range, which is an advantage compared to physical stores where store space is often limited.
An advantage for the product category carpets compared to many other product categories is that carpets do not deteriorate when stored for a longer period and that trend sensitivity is lower than for example fashion. E-commerce retailers of carpets can therefore inventory a wide range of products without incurring high inventory risk.
E-commerce retailers can also, compared to physical stores, more quickly optimize the assortment based on customer demand and customer preferences by using data to identify consumer behavior and offer customers a more relevant assortment.
Demographic factors
We assess that younger consumers (Generation Millennials and later - see fact box) generally have a higher propensity to shop online compared to older consumers. This customer group is likely to contribute to e-commerce increasing as a share of the total market as they establish themselves in the labor market, increase their disposable income, and start moving into their own homes.
Our perception is that a larger proportion of rugs will be purchased from a webshop in the future due to a larger proportion of the market having an established behavior of buying products and services from digital stores.
We also see that middle-aged and older consumers are becoming increasingly willing and accustomed to e-commerce. The fact that even older consumers have become more accustomed to shopping from digital stores is expected to result in a broader target group for webshops in general.
Number of people in Europe aged 25 or over from millennial or later generations (millions)
Source: European population statistics. By generation millennium refers to people born in 1980 or later.
Competition
The sale of rugs in Europe, both for physical and digital sales, is fragmented. We divide the different types of rugs retailers on the European market into four overarching types.
Traditional retailers
Traditional carpet retailers focus mainly on sales in physical stores and can be divided into two subtypes.
Subtype one is small local physical carpet stores that only offer a limited carpet range of a certain type. A large part of these stores offer traditional handmade rugs, but some stores focus on offering design carpets that have been produced in several copies per type, as well as wall-to-wall rugs. The stores that offer wall-to-wall carpets often offer the possibility of buying custom-made carpets and other flooring alternatives.
Subtype two is local physical furniture or home furnishings stores. These retailers often have furniture and other home furnishings products as their main focus, but the selection of carpets is often limited.
Large and medium-sized home furnishings chains
Large and medium-sized home furnishings chains are retailers that offer a wide range of products for the home. Some of these focus on home improvement products, some on furniture, while others focus more on products that can be classified as home textiles. Some of these actors offer a selection of all these product categories.
Historically, these chains have focused on sales in physical stores, but in recent years, they have also developed webshops.
Digital stores
Digital department stores are retailers that operate e-commerce in a large number of product categories. Within this type of retailer, there are two subtypes.
Subtype one is actors that offer a very wide range of products within several different mega-categories, such as books, clothing, sports equipment, furniture, and home textiles, including rugs.
Subtype two is actors that offer a wide range of product types within the mega-category home furnishings.
Digital math specialists
Digital rug specialists focus on selling rugs and related products through online stores. There are many digital rug stores in Europe but only a few are large and offer their assortment to a larger part of European countries. The larger players often take advantage of being able to offer a wide range of different types of rugs at favorable prices. Most also have a business that is specialized in e-commerce.
Rugvista's customer target groups
At Rugvista, we start from the idea that rugs can elevate every home and that we can help people create homes to love. With thoughtful design and a carefully curated selection, we make quality and design more accessible. We combine inspiration and guidance with a smooth online shopping experience and help customers choose rugs that perfect the room and create homes that feel personal over time. We want Rugvista to be the safe first choice for quality rugs that add comfort and beauty to everyday life.
Rugvista caters to a broad target audience with different needs, style preferences, and budgets. By starting from and understanding our six customer groups, we can offer clearer choices, better guidance, and more relevant communication. Our customer groups are: Home Decorator, Premium Shopper, Rug Enthusiast, Bargain Hunter, Functional Shopper, and Sustainable Shopper.