HOME SYSTEM: WORLD TRADE PERFORMANCES IN Q3-2026

World Home System exports pick up sharply in Q3 2026...

According to ExportPlanning’s preliminary estimates, world sales of finished home products¹ grew by +5.9% year on year at constant prices² in the third quarter of 2026. This is a clear improvement on the first half of the year (+2.3%), and an even bigger one compared with the full-year 2025 figure (-0.5%).

That said, a favourable base effect is at work. The year-on-year change is measured against a weak third quarter of 2025, so part of the acceleration reflects lost ground being recovered rather than a net expansion in demand.

...almost across the board at macro-sector level:
9 out of 10 post positive changes, and 8 of them accelerate compared with the first half of the year

The industry’s economic picture shows world sales growing in most Home System macro-sectors.

Home System – year-on-year trends in world exports by macro-sector::
changes at constant prices

The figures show how widespread the recovery is. In the third quarter, nine macro-sectors out of ten posted positive changes, eight out of ten accelerated compared with the first half, and five rose by more than 7%. In 2025, six macro-sectors out of ten closed the year in decline, so within just a few quarters the picture has essentially turned around. Within this common trend, however, some different dynamics stand out.

Kitchenware leads the way

The strongest performances are in kitchen products. Pots and pans³ (+10.7% at constant prices) was the most dynamic macro-sector of the quarter. It confirms the leading role it already played in 2025, when it was the best performer in the Home System. Home appliances⁴ accelerated even more sharply, from +1.3% in the first half to +9.2% in the latest quarter. Cutlery and flatware⁵ turned around in the latest quarter, from -1.4% in the first half to +7.0% in Q3-2026.

These signals point to a recovery in spending on kitchen equipment, an area often tied to home renovation and refurbishment cycles.

Lighting: a rebound after a difficult 2025

Lighting⁶ shows the sharpest turnaround: from -11.7% in 2025 and -3.2% in the first half of this year to +9.3% in the third quarter of 2026. However, this growth is measured against very depressed levels. Export volumes are probably still below 2024 levels, and only the coming quarters will show whether this is the start of a structural recovery or just a technical rebound.

Furniture and home textiles: a recovery that is consolidating

For Furniture and furnishing items⁷ (+5.9% at constant prices in Q3-2026), Home textiles⁸ (+6.0%) and Carpets, tapestries and wallpaper⁹ (+5.8%), as well as Miscellaneous household articles¹⁰ (+7.2%), the acceleration is more gradual but also steadier. Furniture had already emerged from the negative phase of 2025 in the first half of the year (+4.8%). The third quarter therefore strengthens a recovery in furniture demand that seems to rest on firmer ground than the segments marked by sharper rebounds.

Electronics and tableware: the less positive notes

Finally, two macro-sectors go against the trend. Consumer electronics¹¹ is still growing (+2.6%), but it is the only positive segment to slow down compared with the first half (+3.9%). In 2025 it helped sustain Home System sales as the second-fastest-growing macro-sector. Now electronics is giving way to other categories, which may signal that demand is rotating towards more traditional home goods.

The situation is more critical for Glassware and tableware¹² It is the only macro-sector in decline, and it is getting worse (-7.6%), with negative changes for the third consecutive period. All the other tableware and kitchen products are growing strongly, so this divergence suggests that the weakness stems from factors specific to the segment, such as competitive dynamics and changing consumer habits. These factors deserve closer analysis by exporting country and destination market.

Conclusions

The third quarter of 2026 gives the sector its most positive economic signal in two years. For Italian Home System companies, this points to a few practical takeaways.

1. A favourable window for 2027 planning. The broad-based recovery in world demand is a good basis for setting sales budgets, trade fair participation and foreign market strategies with a more expansionary approach than the 2025 picture suggested.
2. Sectoral selectivity. The recovery is not the same in every segment. Signals look more solid in kitchenware, furniture and home textiles. In lighting, the recovery still needs to be confirmed over the coming quarters. For glassware and tableware, the outlook remains difficult and rewards niche strategies, the high end of the range and specialised channels (contract, HoReCa).
3. Volumes and prices. The trends analysed here are at constant prices, so they measure traded volumes. Italian companies are mostly positioned in the mid-to-high price ranges. They should also track average prices and competitive positioning, to see whether the recovery reaches quality segments too or is mainly driven by the lowest price range.
4. Reading the recovery market by market. The aggregate world figure may hide very different trends across geographical areas. Companies need to find the destination markets that are driving the acceleration so they can direct sales resources to where demand is most dynamic.
5. Caution in reading the outlook. Several factors call for caution about whether these growth rates can last: the favourable base effect, the provisional nature of the preliminary estimates, and an international context that is still uncertain, from trade policies to consumer confidence and the performance of property markets. The fourth quarter will be an important test of whether the sector’s recovery will consolidate in 2027.