by Sales rose 1% from April, slightly outperforming the overall retail and food services gain during the same period
WASHINGTON — Despite some reports of strong Memorial Day sales, furniture store sales declined 1.2% from May 2025, decreasing from $11.4 billion to $11.2 billion last month.
However, they rose 1% from April, increasing approximately $107 million from $11.1 billion to $11.2 billion, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the Department of Commerce. Interestingly, the home furnishings category slightly outperformed the overall retail and food services gain of 0.9% from April. This outcome exceeded general expectations for retail and was revised from an originally forecasted gain of 0.4%.
Part of the growth in the furniture category is likely attributable to Memorial Day, a historically big sales day for furniture retailers. Last month, retailers across the U.S. reported mixed results. One retailer, HOM Furniture, reported that sales were up (without revealing a specific number), while others reported flat or down results compared with the prior year. This could explain the slight, but not huge, increase across the category.
Despite short-term improvement, the home furnishings category remained 1.2% below May of last year, underscoring that demand has improved slightly but is still down compared with 2025. A look at March through May shows that furnishings sales were 1.7% stronger than the preceding three months, suggesting some recent momentum. Compared with the same period in 2025, however, furnishings sales remain down 1.9%, highlighting that overall demand has softened in the past year.
Other bright spots in the report were miscellaneous store retailers, up 2.3%; non-store retailers, up 1.5% from April and 12.2% from a year earlier; and auto and other motor vehicle dealers, which rose 1.3%.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, gasoline stations posted one of the strongest monthly gains, with sales increasing 3.4% from April. Excluding gas prices, however, retail sales still rose 0.7% overall, highlighting consumer resiliency. In the weeks ahead, there will be several important economic indicators to watch, including if gasoline prices continue to come down and if there is a resolution to the war in Iran, both of which could boost consumer confidence.
Also, with the summer selling season upon retailers, it will be interesting to see if the April to May increase holds strong into June or fizzles out. Time will tell.
