by Strong year-over-year sales activity aligns with reports from retailers of a strong August that continued into the Labor Day holiday weekend
WASHINGTON — Furniture store sales continued their year-over-year winning streak in August, posting a 5.2% increase over August 2024, according to figures released by the U.S. Department of Commerce Tuesday.
However, they contracted .5% since July, a sign that consumers may be delaying some planned purchases because of tariffs or other economic factors.
August furniture store sales totaled $11.6 billion, up from $11.1 billion in August 2024 and down slightly from $11.7 billion in July.
By comparison, overall year-over-year retail sales rose 5%, totaling $732 billion, compared with $697.2 billion in August 2024. They also rose .5% from $727.4 billion in July.
For furniture stores, this marked the 12th straight year-over-year gain following a previous 18 months of year-over-year declines. The 5.2% growth also outpaced several other retail sectors but was less than half of the increase posted by non-store retailers, including e-commerce specialists and catalog businesses as well as miscellaneous store retailers including pet supply stores, religious supply stores and florists, for example.
The largest gain was posted by miscellaneous store retailers. Sales rose 10.7% in the segment to $15 billion, compared with $13.5 billion in August 2024. It was followed by non-store retailers, up 10.1% to $129.8 billion; clothing and clothing accessories stores, up 8.3% to $27.2 billion; restaurants and bars, up 6.5% to $99.5 billion; motor vehicle and parts dealers, up 5.6% to $139.8 billion; and health and beauty stores, up 5.1% to $39.6 billion.
Other sectors that saw an increase in August included sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and bookstores, up 4.7% to $8.1 billion; electronics and appliance stores, up 3.7% to $7.8 billion; and general merchandise stores, up 1.9% to $76.8 billion. However, department stores, a subset of general merchandise stores, were down 1% to $3.2 billion.
Other areas that posted a year-over-year decrease in August were building material and garden and equipment supplies dealers, down 2.3% to $40 billion, and gasoline stations, down .7% to $51.7 billion.
The increase for furniture stores in August aligns with reports from retailers that Home News Now interviewed regarding Labor Day sales. While many reported a strong Labor Day, they also reported a strong month of August, making it one of their best, if not the best, month of the year so far.
With $11.6 billion in sales for the month, furniture store sales also remained higher than pre-pandemic levels of $9.9 billion in August 2019; $9.7 billion in August 2018; $9.4 billion in August 2017; $9.1 billion in August 2016; and $8.7 billion in August 2015.
