In 2026, the home textile industry's growth from new home renovations continues to narrow, with the market shifting from incremental expansion to stock renewal. Signals from the China Textile City Curtain and Fabric Exhibition indicate that overall industry growth is stabilizing, space for extensive capacity expansion and low-price volume selling is shrinking, and market stratification is becoming the new normal.
Market Stratification: From Price Competition to Value Competition
The contraction in incremental demand has directly catalyzed industry differentiation. Small and medium factories and terminal stores that focus on homogenized commodities, lack original design and supporting services, are seeing their survival space visibly narrow. In contrast, enterprises with stable supply chains, original development capabilities, and comprehensive brand systems are steadily securing mid-to-high-end orders, with customer traffic, orders, and profits concentrating among quality leaders.
Procurement standards on the consumer side are also changing. Low price is no longer the core decision factor; product safety, fabric texture, craftsmanship, and spatial matching suitability have become key considerations. This means that relying solely on price wars to win orders is unsustainable. Suppliers must reassess their value proposition—whether to be a commodity mover or a solution provider.
Domestic demand for old home renovation and partial home textile replacement continues to grow, coupled with stable foreign trade orders, forming a dual-circulation structure that cushions the industry. However, the competition logic in the stock market differs fundamentally from the incremental era, testing enterprises' ability to deeply explore and respond to existing customer needs.
Product Upgrade: Functionality and Texture Go Hand in Hand
Changes in product development are equally significant. Home textile products no longer pursue only basic decorative effects; functionality, practicality, and fabric texture have become core standards for new product development and market sales. Curtains and bedding fabrics with features like antibacterial, mite-proof, easy-cleaning, no-iron, high shading, and wear resistance are gaining higher market adoption and coverage.
Natural fabrics such as cotton, linen, Tencel, and wool are increasingly used, with environmentally friendly, durable, and easy-care processes favored, while low-end, fragile, and single-function fabrics are gradually being phased out. This trend reflects consumers' substantive improvement in living quality requirements—they are willing to pay more for healthier sleep environments and more convenient maintenance.
Aesthetic preferences also show clear stratification: the mass market favors low-saturation colors and simple, versatile basic styles balancing cost-effectiveness and practicality; the mid-to-high-end market emphasizes original patterns, unique textures, and fine craftsmanship, avoiding homogenized competition through differentiated design. For factories, this means product lines need to match target customer segments more precisely rather than attempting to cover all price points.
Operational Transformation: Whole-Home Matching and Omni-Channel Operation
Business model iteration is equally noteworthy. The traditional model of single-product wholesale and passively waiting for customers is becoming obsolete. Whole-home matching delivery, combined online-offline customer acquisition, and deep cultivation of existing customers have become mainstream business approaches. Consumers no longer accept scattered single-item matching but prefer cohesive home textile solutions that suit overall spaces.
Source factories and terminal stores are improving their full-category supporting systems, shifting from selling single fabrics or items to delivering complete spatial solutions. In terms of customer acquisition, short videos and real-scene displays online have become regular traffic-generation methods, while offline experience, after-sales maintenance, and repeat purchases through referrals form a complete operational loop. Omni-channel operation capability has evolved from a plus to a necessity.
Current industry growth mainly comes from domestic old-home renovation and soft furnishing renovation markets, while lightweight and multifunctional fabric products continue to export, with foreign trade providing a stable bottom line. This dual-wheel pattern offers relatively stable growth support but also requires enterprises to have flexible channel-switching capabilities.