Wayfair’s (W) CFO Kate Gulliver warned that despite the bull market in stocks this summer, the steady stream of interest rate hikes which were delivered by the Federal Reserve over the past year have hit consumers hard.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Gulliver said, “Customers are a little bit more on the sidelines, and we’ve been using promotional activity to get their attention on the category. Rising rates and the corresponding press coverage have kept them cautious.”

And Wayfair is not alone, as the broader home furnishings industry has felt the hit as well.

Between the post-pandemic period seeing furnishings suffer, the Fed’s stream of rate hikes, and the liquidation sales coming from the collapse of Bed Bath & Beyond, it has been a tough period for the home furnishings industry.

According to government data from the Census Bureau Retail Sales Report, nine of the last twelve months for the home furnishings category have been marked by declines.

Gulliver added, “We’ve seen softness in the [furniture] category for about a year at this point.”

The slowdown however has only led Wayfair to hone its business. Gulliver said, “Certainly we think about interest rates when we think about cash management. We have convertible notes at the fixed rates, so the rising rates don’t affect our existing debt. … Our interest expenses are quite low.”

This has begun to bear fruit, as the e-commerce company’s second quarter report, released Thursday, showed better than expected earnings and profits for the quarter.

While it was the operating profits beat which garnered most of the attention of investors, the company’s adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) was $128 million, vastly beating estimates of $29.6 million.

On Thursday, Wayfair stock soared over 20% in afternoon trading.

Jonathan Matuszewski, an analyst at Jeffries, in a note, praised Wayfair’s “improved competitive position” and wrote there was “nothing” he didn’t like about the quarterly report.

He added, “Quality beat throughout [profit and loss].”