Flooring sales bounce back after slow start
April 21, 2023
Flooring sales have bounced back after a sluggish start to the year with March showing a major increase according to the latest retail data from the Office for National Statistics.
March floorcovering retail sales were up 28.5% month-on-month since February, up by to £268.1m from £208.5m. However, compared to the same time last year, performance is still subdued – sales decreased by 3.8% from £278.1m compared to March 2022.
The furniture and lighting sector overall did slightly better with retail sales increasing 31% to £1.675bn for March from £1.2bn in February. This marked the highest result so far this year and is also up on the previous year, with sales up 4.3% i 2023 from £1.605bn in 2022.
Overall, total retail sales volume in March fell by 3.1%, while the value increased by 4.5% to £47.2bn year-on-year due to the effects of inflation. On a monthly comparison, volumes were down 0.9%, with the value spent also down by 0.9%.
Commentators blamed the poor weather in March for the overall fall but this factor may have helped push shoppers indoors to consider major purchases again such as flooring.
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