Office Visit Data Points to Continued RTO Momentum
Office Visit Data Points to Continued RTO Momentum
Some much-needed good news for the office furniture industry: recent data shows that return-to-office (RTO) trends are finally gaining traction. Office visits are up across the country — still 32.2% below the golden days of March 2019, sure, but moving in the right direction. March 2025 marked the second-busiest month for office foot traffic since the pandemic, a sharp reversal from earlier dips that were mostly blamed on bad weather (and possibly some wishful thinking that remote work might be forever).
Even better, the momentum isn’t just a fluke. Year-over-year numbers are improving, and companies — including government agencies — are turning up the pressure on employees to swap their sweatpants for real pants. That means more butts in seats, more wear and tear on old office setups, and more reason for companies to invest in updated workspaces. Translation: not bad news if you’re in the business of making desks, chairs, or anything that involves acoustics and adjustable arms.
New York and Miami are currently leading the RTO charge, with NYC now just 11.4% below pre-pandemic levels. Cities like Atlanta and D.C. are also outpacing the national average, while others (ahem, San Francisco and Chicago) are still clinging to their Zoom links. But overall, most major metros are showing positive year-over-year growth — Boston, in particular, is flexing some serious RTO muscle.
Of course, hybrid work is still very much a thing, and that’s not going away anytime soon. But for the contract furniture world, this uptick in office activity is something to lean into. It’s not a full-on comeback yet, but it’s definitely starting to look like a very solid refresh.
