In this week’s blog, we took a lighthearted look at the workplace through the lens of spirit animals—because sometimes imagining your boss as a hedgehog really does help.
We’re keeping that energy going by exploring how different approaches and personalities show up on the sales floor and in the numbers. We’re also breaking down the data from Memorial Day weekend, with fresh insights on how furniture and mattress stores performed across traffic, ticket size, and revenue.
Today's Rundown
Here's a quick glimpse of what is in this week's newsletter.
JUST RELEASED: Download the Q1 2024 Home Furnishing Benchmark Report and see how your store compares to the industry average.
- Memorial Day Weekend Recap: Get insights into how the holiday weekend played out.
- Secret Life of Returns: How savvy shoppers are saving big on returned goods.
Market Pulse
This Week's Furniture & Mattress Performance Stats
This is where we look at how the furniture and mattress industry performed over the last 7 days.
Furniture
Mattress
Notable News
Memorial Day 2025 Weekend Analysis
We hope everyone had a great Memorial Day—and maybe even caught a breather between customers.
At Trakwell, we spent the long weekend doing what we do best: watching the numbers so you don’t have to. Our full Memorial Day 2025 Retail Analysis is now live, and it’s packed with insights on how furniture and mattress stores performed compared to last year.
Here’s a sneak peek:
Furniture stores saw foot traffic decline—especially on Saturday—but held steady on revenue thanks to small but consistent increases in average ticket.
Mattress retailers, on the other hand, pulled off a 22.7% increase in foot traffic and an 11.4% bump in average ticket, leading to an 8.1% lift in revenue. Not bad for a three-day weekend.
If you’re wondering what your neighbors were doing (or just want to know if your Saturday struggle was universal), this breakdown is for you.
Notable News
Dollar Stores Welcome the Unexpected: High-Income Shoppers Seek Bargains
In what feels like a plot twist straight from a retail nature documentary, dollar stores are attracting a new kind of animal to their ecosystem—affluent shoppers.
Dollar Tree recently reported a 14.4% increase in net income, reaching $343.4 million in Q1, and noted a significant uptick in traffic from households earning over $100,000. In a time when inflation and economic uncertainty have made price sensitivity more universal, even those once insulated from cost concerns are now hunting for value.
This shift is like watching peacocks nest among ants—unexpected, but it makes sense in the context of a changing retail ecosystem. It’s a reminder that behavior adapts to environment, not status. It also shows the power of perceived value and how stores known for grit and grind are now seen as safe havens in a chaotic economy.
Around the World
Ready to turn sales goals into a global adventure? “Around the World” is a dynamic contest that transforms the showroom floor into an international sales journey—perfect for sparking motivation and friendly competition.
HOW TO SET UP: Create a large world map display and choose a starting city for each salesperson—typically their hometown. Plot a route across major global cities like New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, and beyond. Assign specific sales goals to each leg of the journey (e.g., sell six sofas to travel from New York to London). Use fun, themed game pieces—mini planes, passports, or photos of each team member—to track everyone’s progress.
HOW THE GAME WORKS: Salespeople must meet a designated sales goal to begin their trip and continue traveling from one city to the next. Each sale moves them closer to completing their world tour. The first person to complete the full route wins the grand prize, but you can also offer smaller rewards for reaching key cities. Bonus: Feature travel agency posters, destination postcards, or even themed snacks each week to keep the energy high.
Tip for Store Managers: Use this game to drive targeted behaviors by assigning category-specific sales goals (e.g., sell a dining set to reach Rome). For even more engagement, post a “flight board” showing each person’s current location and next destination. The visual progress and global theme create an exciting atmosphere where every sale feels like a step toward adventure.
Retail Snippets
Fresh Take: Peloton launches peer-to-peer resale platform.
Secret Life of Returns: How savvy shoppers are saving big on returned goods.
Trend Watch: Consumer expectations plunge at fastest pace since 1990 recession.
Random Irrelevance
Breakthrough tech: Ginormous planet discovered around tiny red star challenges our understanding of solar systems.
Must See: 10 delightful images from the 2025 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.
New Tech: OpenAI debuts Codex CLI, an open source coding tool for terminals
