Furniture retail sales rise in November 2024; flooring also up

Furnishings retail gross sales elevated throughout November on final month however had been down towards an annual comparability.

In response to the newest information from the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics, furnishings and lighting retail gross sales rose 4.8% to £1.29bn from £1.23bn in October. In comparison with the earlier yr, gross sales had been down 9.7% from £1.43bn.

Floorcovering retail gross sales elevated month-on-month, up by 11.7% to £307m from £274.8m. In comparison with the identical time final yr, gross sales rose by 17.2% from £261.9m.

Retail gross sales volumes (amount purchased) are estimated to have risen by 0.2% in November 2024, following a fall of 0.7% in October 2024. As for the worth (quantity spent), this was up 9.7% month-on-month to £43.8bn.

Non-food shops gross sales volumes – the whole of division, clothes, family and different non-food shops – rose 0.2% over the month with a powerful optimistic contribution from different retail gross sales (not elsewhere specified). This sub-sector rose by 7.9% in November, rebounding from a 7.1% fall in October 2024. Family items shops rose by 1.1%, with furnishings shops having the most important upward contribution to progress.

The quantity spent on-line, referred to as “on-line spending values”, fell by 4.3% throughout November 2024, the most important drop since March 2022. When put next with November 2023, gross sales values fell by 3.1%. Complete spend – the sum of in-store and on-line gross sales – rose by 0.3% over the month. Because of this, the proportion of gross sales made on-line decreased from 27.5% in October 2024 to 26.2% in November, its lowest degree since February 2024.

Commenting on the retail gross sales figures for November, ONS Senior Statistician Hannah Finselbach stated: “Retail gross sales elevated barely in November following final month’s fall. For the primary time in three months there was a lift for meals retailer gross sales, notably supermarkets. It was additionally a very good month for family items retailers, most notably furnishings outlets.

“Clothes retailer gross sales dipped sharply as soon as once more, as retailers reported powerful buying and selling situations. With November’s retail gross sales survey overlaying the 4 weeks to the 23 November, Black Friday itself will fall inside December’s figures. Nevertheless, our figures account for this shift in timing to present us the perfect image of what’s taking place within the outlets.”

Responding to the newest ONS Retail Gross sales Index figures, Kris Hamer, Director of Perception on the British Retail Consortium, stated: “After a optimistic begin to the Golden Quarter, November gross sales stagnated, with increased power payments and low client sentiment impacting spending. Clothes suffered from a fall in gross sales, with milder climate placing many off updating their winter wardrobe. Customers had been additionally holding out for the primary black Friday gross sales week to choose up magnificence and electrical offers, which noticed their first falls of the yr. The ultimate two months of the yr account for over one-fifth of all gross sales, making it a interval of important significance – notably for non-food. With a weak November efficiency, retailers will hope that customers come out in power within the remaining days earlier than Christmas.

“Given the shaky begin to the festive season, retailers will probably be wanting on the £7bn in new prices from the Funds going through the business in 2025 with elevated concern. Larger employer nationwide insurance coverage contributions, a better Nationwide Residing Wage, and a brand new packaging levy will heap strain on an business that’s already paying greater than its fair proportion of tax. With gross sales progress unable to maintain tempo, retailers may have no alternative however to boost costs or minimize prices – closing shops and freezing recruitment. To mitigate this, Authorities should be certain that its proposed enterprise charges reform doesn’t lead to any store paying increased charges than they already do.”