Furniture sales 'sparkle' in January
February 22, 2022
Furniture and flooring sales are showing no signs of slowing despite warnings on consumer hesitancy over cost-of-living increases.
The latest ONS figures for January showed 17% growth in the sector compared to the already buoyant sales data for December. This compares to a 1.9% rise in overall consumer spending month-on-month.
Susannah Streeter, senior investment analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, the financial services company, said consumers appeared to be “shrugging off” the mounting cost of living crisis. “After having spent many more days confined to home due to infections and the mass cancellation of events in December, there was clearly an urge to revamp rooms and add back some sparkle in the dull days of January,” she added.
But economists are still divided about the prospects for the rest of the year. Lisa Hooker, consumer markets leader at PwC, said care needed to be taken in reading “too much” into the headline figures. “What is certain is that the triple squeeze of cost of living increases, tax rises and interest rate hikes are for the most part yet to hit consumers’ wallets,” she said.
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