by September sales rose 4.9% from a year earlier, but furniture and home furnishings sales remained down 1.5% through the first nine months of 2026
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Census Bureau released its advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for September. Adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, sales totaled $745 billion. However, essential spending is potentially obscuring weakness in discretionary categories.
In exclusive commentary provided to Home News Now, Dominick Miserandino, retail analyst and chief executive officer and founder of RTM Nexus, pointed out that the broader data reinforces this underlying consumer caution. The Census Bureau reported total September retail and food services sales increased 0.8% from August, but when excluding gasoline stations — which as a category increased 6.4% month over month and 28.1% year over year — total sales rose only 0.2% from August to September. Those figures are sales dollars, not inflation-adjusted volumes, so the headline doesn’t necessarily mean households have more room for big-ticket home purchases. Other economic headwinds, including inflation, a stagnant housing market, declines in new-home constructions and extensive renovations, are still present.
For the first nine months of the year, furniture and home furnishings store sales totaled $93.2 billion, reflecting a 1.5% decline from the same period in 2025. Breaking down the year-to-date numbers illustrates how the furniture sector has gradually improved after a difficult start to the year. Following a 3.7% year-over-year drop in the first quarter, the downturn moderated to a 1.3% decline in the second quarter. By the third quarter, the sector returned to positive territory, growing 0.3% year over year, compared with approximately $31.7 billion in the third quarter of 2025.
In September alone, furniture and home furnishings store sales totaled $10.7 billion, marking a 1.3% increase from August. This late-summer and early-fall momentum can likely be somewhat attributed to retail activity naturally picking up as back-to-school routines settle in, promotional events kick off and retailers roll out targeted seasonal marketing.
“September’s 1.3% lift is a pulse, not a comeback,” said Miserandino. “Furniture is a purchase shoppers can put off, so one stronger month doesn’t suddenly mean consumers are ready to replace a sofa. Heading into the holidays, retailers need to make the full value clear — price, financing, reliable delivery and quality. Discounting may bring people through the door, but if it eats up the margin, that’s not much of a holiday win.”
Despite the monthly increase, furniture and home furnishings stores remain among the laggards in the broader retail landscape. Furniture is only one of two major categories in the report with negative year-to-date sales growth, trailing behind the health and personal care stores category, which was down 1.9% year over year.
As September marks the transition into the final quarter of the year, consumer behavior during the holiday selling season will be pivotal. For furniture retailers, the uneven results underscore the importance of looking beyond headline retail growth. As the holiday season approaches, retailers need to demonstrate value and offer compelling financing options to compete for discretionary dollars.
