Fewer shoppers, not weaker salesmanship defined this year’s Labor Day weekend.
Furniture foot traffic fell 16.2% and revenue dropped 23.8% compared to last year, with the slide getting worse as the weekend went on — Sunday and Labor Day itself were the hardest-hit days.
Mattress traffic fell even further, down 30%, but the stores that did get shoppers through the door made the most of them: average ticket rose 7.9% and conversion actually improved.
In both industries, conversion held steady or improved even as traffic pulled back, suggesting a weekend that was harder to draw customers into than to sell to once they arrived.
Furniture Industry
Every day of the weekend came in behind 2025 on foot traffic, with Labor Day itself down 19.4% — the steepest single-day drop of the window.
Revenue followed the same pattern and then some: Sunday fell 28.2% and Labor Day fell 30.9% year over year, the two largest declines of the weekend. Average ticket softened as well, down 13.7% on Sunday and 8.5% on Labor Day, meaning the fewer shoppers who did come in weren’t spending more to compensate. Revenue per opportunity — the clearest read on how much each visitor was worth — fell 9.5% for the weekend, and the gap widened as the weekend went on, from roughly flat on Friday to a 15.6% decline on Sunday.
Sales conversion was the one metric that held roughly steady, down only slightly across every day and essentially flat on Labor Day itself (-0.1%) — a sign that the stores that did get traffic converted it about as well as they did last year.
Foot Traffic
Foot traffic was down across every day of the weekend, falling 16.2% on average compared to Labor Day weekend 2025. Labor Day itself saw the steepest drop at 19.4%, the weakest single-day reading of the window.
Average Ticket
Average ticket size declined 7.4% year over year for the weekend overall. The drop was sharpest on Sunday, down 13.7%, while Friday held closest to last year’s levels.
Daily Revenue
Daily revenue fell 23.8% compared to last year, the largest decline of any metric tracked. Sunday and Labor Day carried most of the drop, down 28.2% and 30.9% respectively.
Sales Conversion
Conversion barely moved, down just 1.5% for the weekend and essentially flat on Labor Day itself at -0.1%. Stores that did get traffic converted it at almost the same rate as last year.
Revenue per Opportunity
Revenue per opportunity fell 9.5% for the weekend, the clearest sign that each visitor was worth less this year. The gap widened as the weekend went on, from nearly flat on Friday to a 15.6% decline on Sunday.
Mattress Industry
Mattress foot traffic pulled back even harder than furniture’s, down 30% for the weekend and a steep 53.8% on Saturday specifically — though Sunday actually grew traffic 13% year over year, underscoring how much day-to-day noise comes with a small store sample.
Revenue was down 12.9% overall, driven mainly by a rough Labor Day (-37.3%), but Saturday bucked the trend with revenue up 31.4% on the back of a 54.5% jump in average ticket that day.
Average ticket for the weekend overall actually rose 7.9% year over year, and sales conversion improved slightly too (+1.3%) — so on a per-transaction basis, mattress stores that did convert shoppers this year converted them a bit better and for more money, even with fewer of them walking in. That shows up clearly in revenue per opportunity, which actually rose 6.6% for the weekend despite the traffic decline, led by a striking 63.9% jump on Saturday.
Foot Traffic
Traffic dropped 30% for the weekend on a small store base, with Saturday down a sharp 53.8%. Sunday was the exception, actually up 13% year over year, highlighting how much day-to-day swings show up with fewer stores in the pool.
Average Ticket
Average ticket size actually rose 7.9% compared to last year. Saturday drove most of the gain, up 54.5% year over year, even as the other three days came in flat to slightly down.
Daily Revenue
Revenue was down 12.9% for the weekend overall, led by a rough Labor Day at -37.3%. Saturday moved the opposite direction, up 31.4% on the strength of that day’s higher ticket size.
Conversion Rate
Conversion improved slightly, up 1.3% year over year for the weekend. Saturday posted the biggest gain at +16.0%, while Labor Day was the one soft spot, down 11.6% from last year’s holiday rate.
Revenue per Opportunity
Revenue per opportunity rose 6.6% for the weekend despite the traffic decline, led by a striking 63.9% jump on Saturday. Labor Day was the exception, down 16.4% from last year’s holiday rate.
Conclusion
This year’s Labor Day weekend was a pullback in volume more than a pullback in performance.
Furniture saw fewer shoppers, lower ticket sizes, and lower revenue per visitor across nearly every day, but conversion barely moved — the stores are still closing sales at the same rate, there just weren’t as many chances to, and each chance was worth a bit less.
Mattress told a different story: traffic dropped hard, but ticket size, conversion, and revenue per opportunity all moved in the right direction, meaning the shoppers who did walk in were both higher-intent and more profitable to serve.
For both industries, the read for next year is less about how to convert and more about how to get more — and in furniture’s case, more valuable — people through the door.
