January sees rise in flooring sales
February 16, 2024
Retail sales for flooring went up over 2% in January compared to December, despite sales in the furniture sector overal plunging 22%.
The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows floorcovering retail sales increased month-on-month by 2.1% to £194.4m from £190.4m in December. But, compared to the same time last year, sales fell by 6.8% from £208.7m.
The January figures for furniture and lighting retail sales fell 22.2% to £1.22bn from £1.57bn in December. Compared to the previous year, these sales were down 3.1% from £1.26n.
Overall data for non-food stores sales volumes returned to broadly expected levels, with a rise of 3.0% over the month following a 3.9% fall in December.
Heather Bovill, Deputy Director for Surveys and Economic Indicators at the ONS, said: “After a very weak December, retail sales rebounded in January with the largest monthly rise since April 2021. This means that overall sales have now recovered to pre-December levels, although if we look at the broader picture, they are still below where they were pre-pandemic."
Kris Hamer, Director of Insight at the British Retail Consortium, said: “There was promising news as sales volumes rose for the second time in three months, following 19 prior months of decline. This reflected rising levels of consumer confidence, as well as a boost from the January sales. Nonetheless, shoppers remained cautious as they entered the third year of the high cost of living."
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