Retail Monitor reports modest sales gains for home furnishings and furniture stores

October sales were up in year over year in 7 out of 9 retail channels following a sluggish September performance.

Retail Monitor reports modest sales gains for home furnishings and furniture stores

WASHINGTON – October sales were up year over year in 7 out of 9 retail channels following a sluggish September performance.

According to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, furniture and home furnishings stores were up 0.58% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 1.87% year over year unadjusted.

In comparison to the survey-based numbers collected by the Census Bureau for the Department of Commerce’s monthly report, the Retail Monitor uses anonymized credit and debit card purchase data compiled by Affinity Solutions.

The home and furniture store segment which has been struggling for most of the year, underperformed the total retail industry.

The Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales (excluding restaurants, automobile dealers and gasoline stations) was up 0.83% month over month in October and up 4.59% year over year. That compared with a decrease of 0.28% month over month and an increase of 0.94% year over year in September.

Specifics from other key sectors include:

Online and other non-store sales were up 1.84% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 19.38% year over year unadjusted.
Clothing and accessories stores were down 0.57% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 8.56% year over year unadjusted.
Health and personal care stores were up 1.45% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 8.35% year over year unadjusted.
General merchandise stores were up 0.05% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 5.51% year over year unadjusted.
Grocery and beverage stores were up 0.87% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 3.76% year over year unadjusted.
Building and garden supply stores were up 1.69% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 3.12% year over year unadjusted.
Electronics and appliance stores were down 0.81% month over month seasonally adjusted and down 0.64% year over year unadjusted.
Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores were up 2.7% month over month seasonally adjusted but down 1.23% year over year unadjusted.

The year-over-year increase for total sales was the largest since 4.24% in November 2023 while the year-over-year increase for core sales was the largest since 4.76% in August 2023. Total sales were up 2.13% year over year for the first 10 months of 2024 and core sales were up 2.42%.

“Healthy spending resumed in October as consumers continued to benefit from this year’s job gains and higher wages,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Inflation is mostly limited to services at this point and prices for some retail goods are actually falling. October sales have set the stage for a good start to the holiday shopping season.”