Around Country Club Centre, a small shopping centre on 3200 Island Highway North: these are mostly stores you can buy and take home the same day:
Mostar Road, between the Nanaimo Parkway Mostar exit and the Island Highway. pre-owned: Habitat for Humanity ReStore - it doubles as the Ikea collection point in Nanaimo! 4128 Mostar rd.
Coast Appliances https://www.coastappliances.ca/pages/nanaimo-showroom - both showroom and retail. 4151 Mostar Rd, Nanaimo, BC V9T 6A6 TL Home Furniture https://www.tlhomefurniture.com/ 4128 Mostar Rd unit 10. (Showroom only, items must be ordered in.)
Chester Fields (on Island Highway off of Mostar Rd), Scandinavian style furniture, and Fawcett Mattress, in the same lot at 4906 Wellington Rd (Showroom only)
Canadian Tire (in the North Nanaimo Town Centre lot, 4585 Uplands Dr.) - this is kind of an everything retail store and a bit of Canadian culture for you - they sell home goods, tools, patio furniture, some chairs, desks and organizational furniture as well as any supplies you'd need to look after, move into, or repair a home (pet stuff and car repair too).
Sofa Source: www.sofasource.ca (showroom) - 5148 Metral Dr, Nanaimo, BC V9T 2K8 (parallel with Island Highway, just off of Mostar Rd.
Bowen Rd near Dufferin: ScanDesigns and Muse & Merchant, right next to each other at 1711 Bowen Road. - higher cost but more solid furniture. Mattress and kids furniture places are nearby.
Higher end: Hartmanns Furniture http://www.hartmanns.ca/ (near Old City Quarter area)
Online shopping delivery to Nanaimo: If you like Ikea and can wait, Add2cart.ca will pick up your orders from the Vancouver area furniture stores like Ikea, Structube and Pottery Barn and bring them back to the Island for a fee and deliver right to your home, or to a collection point. www.add2cart.ca
Ikea now also has a collection point in Nanaimo so you can buy and pay for delivery from Ikea (for items they deliver) on their website and go to their collection point to get it at 4128 Mostar rd.