Extending the Conversation Beyond the Show Floor

The home textile industry is moving through a period of rapid change. From shifting consumer expectations and sustainability pressures to new sourcing models and evolving global supply chains, staying informed has never been more critical. 

The home textile industry is moving through a period of rapid change. From shifting consumer expectations and sustainability pressures to new sourcing models and evolving global supply chains, staying informed has never been more critical. 

With this monthly newsletter series, The Home Source, our goal is simple: to provide relevant, well-grounded insights that help professionals across the home textile value chain better understand where the market stands today and where it is heading next. Each edition will bring together industry observations, market development and timely news. 

This newsletter will also serve as a space where we connect market intelligence with real-world industry information. Home Textile Sourcing is designed to support this exchange of knowledge, sourcing opportunities, and meaningful connections between   international suppliers and U.S. buyers. Rather than standing apart from the conversation, the exhibition is very much part of it. 

We see this newsletter as an ongoing dialogue with the industry, one that values clarity over noise, context over headlines and practical insight over speculation. We are pleased to share the first edition with you and look forward to continuing the conversation in the months ahead. 

Jennifer Bacon | Vice President of Fashion & Apparel, Messe Frankfurt, Inc

Previewing the New Year for the Home Sourcing Sector

This past year was one of the wildest rides the companies who make soft home textiles products have ever experienced. With as many as 19 different tariff regulations impacting imports from China and nearly as many for other sourcing nations like India, Pakistan, Vietnam and Turkey, it made for chaotic conditions for exporters and importers alike.

As we start 2026, forecasting what will happen over the next year is a perilous task. As we’ve seen, things can change at the drop of a presidential social media post so that may not change this year. However, given that caveat, here are some predictions for what the industry will see in 2026:

1. Fewer Wild Swings in Tariff Rates: There may still be ups and downs in duty rates that individual sourcing countries will have to deal with but they are unlikely to be as chaotic as they were in 2025. The current U.S. administration may still use tariffs as a political as well as economic tool to promote its beliefs so that’s always a possibility. However, look for more stability in rates over the next year.

2. Global Shipping Rate Will Hold Steady: Again, politics may upset the status quo but shipping companies seem to be poised to hold both pricing and capacity at near current levels going forward, as least for the start of this new year. There’s always the risk of climatic emergencies upsetting things so beware. However, planning the cost of ocean freight should be easier in 2026.

3. The U.S. Housing Market Will Get Better...Slowly: This may be the riskiest forecast as it’s one that’s been predicted for several years but has yet to show up. However, we are seeing the start of mortgage rates slowly -- very slowly -- coming down and unless the Federal Reserve reverses course that will continue in 2026. And whatever your politics the expected change in the Fed’s leadership later this year will probably mean lower interest rates going forward.

4. Sourcing Remains the Business Model: The tariffs were supposed to spur a return to domestic manufacturing across many industries, including textiles, but it simply hasn’t happened. Nor is it likely to start anytime soon -- if ever. It means U.S. companies will continue to look to foreign resources for their product needs. The countries they do business with may change but the major powers in the business should continue to be the go-to resources. That won’t change.

2026 Will be the Year of AI Ordering at Retail

This past holiday season we saw the first shoots of how artificial intelligence technology will change the way shoppers make their purchases from online retailers. And it’s really going to take hold across much of the retail universe in 2926.

AI has been used over the past few years by retailers as a tool for consumers to do product searches and find out more information about what they were selling. But what was missing was the final step that allowed shoppers to actually complete their purchase using AI.

That changed late last year when the first wave of retailers, led by Walmart, launched technology that consumers could use to not only do search but also buy without going back to the purchasing function of the retail site they were on. All they needed to was click buy through ChatGPT and the sale was completed.

Other retailers like Target and REI jumped on this bandwagon and many more announced they would be instituting similar functionality on their sites in 2026. Many of these retailers sell the soft home products that the global home textiles industry produces so companies in the field need to understand this technology and how it will change the rules of consumer ordering.

For suppliers, it means having more information available online that consumers can access in order to make their purchases. For vendors who are selling direct-to-consumer, this becomes even more important.

We will look back on this past holiday shopping as the start of a major transformation of the e-commerce process. Most shoppers will continue to buy traditionally through retailer and supplier sites but this is the truest manifestation of how AI will impact the retail and wholesale business.