On June 16, the relevant big data research institute released the “2026 China Home Decoration Consumption Trend Report”, revealing the four major trends in China’s home decoration consumption in 2026.
First of all, bid farewell to low-price competition, and quality self-occupancy has become the dominant logic of decoration consumption.
At present, whole-house renovation is firmly in the mainstream with a share of 82.40%, and the demand for partial renovation has shrunk slightly.
The industry has completely jumped out of the low-price involution track, and consumers are more willing to pay for living comfort.
The proportion of upgrade budgets between RMB 80,000 and RMB 120,000 has risen sharply to 48.4%, becoming the absolute main force in the market. Basic demand below RMB 80,000 has continued to decline, and demand for comfort above RMB 120,000 has steadily expanded.
This means that consumers no longer simply compete with decoration prices, but focus on material quality, construction technology and living comfort.
In terms of apartment selection, the popularity of small apartments with an area of less than 60 square meters has rebounded, reflecting the continued release of the demand for renovation of old small apartments among young people who are in demand. The demand for large apartments with an area of more than 160 square meters has cooled, and the market focus has returned to mainstream residential apartments.
At the aesthetic level, the public has got rid of the trend of following Internet celebrity styles. Modern simplicity continues to lead the way with practicality. New Chinese style and retro styles are rapidly rising. Home decoration design has shifted from “trend imitation” to “personal expression + cultural empowerment”. Customized and connotative designs have become new preferences.
Secondly, the focus of growth has dropped, and the proportion of demand in new first-tier cities has soared to 45.70%.
City-level demand data intuitively shows the sinking trend of the home decoration market.
The population in new first-tier cities continues to flow in, second-hand housing and improved housing transactions are active, and the demand for owner-occupied renovations has exploded, becoming the industry’s first growth pole and a key area for future home improvement companies to seize growth.
There are obvious differences in home decoration needs, consumption concepts and preferences in different regions, and the market stratification pattern is clear, which requires the industry to abandon the unified operating model and create differentiated products and services based on local living characteristics and consumption concepts.
Furthermore, the functions have been comprehensively upgraded, and environmental protection, intelligence, and quality have become standard features.
With the upgrade of consumption concepts, home decoration materials are no longer limited to basic functions. The three major dimensions of texture, environmental protection, and intelligence are reshaping material selection standards, and the industry’s material track is moving toward refined and functional competition.
In terms of texture materials, non-slip soft bricks, microcement, ultra-thin rock slabs, etc. take into account both visual beauty and practical performance, promoting the upgrade of home decoration from “basic decoration” to “space aesthetics”.
Environmental protection has changed from an optional demand to a hard necessity. Green building materials such as ENF-grade boards, SPC floors, and natural diatom mud have been fully popularized, and antibacterial and antiviral wall materials are rapidly becoming available.
At the same time, the penetration of intelligent and aging-friendly materials is accelerating, smart dimming doors and windows, constant-temperature showers, etc. are integrated into daily home decoration, and safe bathrooms suitable for the elderly continue to grow, reflecting the evolution of home decoration design towards all-ages and humanization.
Finally, digitalization reshapes the entire home decoration process, and standardization builds trust in the industry.
Nowadays, consumers give priority to using AI to complete house planning and 3D design, with the usage rates of these two functions reaching 37.98% and 31.72% respectively.
The popularization of AI tools not only improves design efficiency and reduces communication costs, but also promotes transparency and front-end decision-making in home decoration. Digital capabilities have thus become the basic competitiveness of home decoration companies.
For a long time, irregular contract performance and insecure funds have been core pain points in the home improvement industry. Currently, the penetration rate of fund custody on relevant platforms has risen to 93.5%, marking the transformation of fund custody from a value-added service to an industry standard.
Taken together, the home decoration industry is in a critical stage of structural transformation in 2026: the consumer side has completed the transition from low-price orientation to quality living, the market side has completed the migration from high-tier cities to new first-tier cities, the product side has realized the integration of material functions and design aesthetics, and the service side has relied on digitalization and standardization to rebuild the industry ecology.
