by Sector continues ongoing streak of year-over-year increases, although this could be related to consumers trying to purchase products before tariffs increase
WASHINGTON — Furniture store sales in April continued their pace of several months in a row of year-over-year gains, with a 7.8% increase from April 2024.
This was the eighth straight yearly increase since September and one of the highest percentage increases of the retail sectors tracked by the U.S. government during the month of April.
The percentage increase also was on par with the growth in restaurant and bar sales, an area that continues to see increases in sales, albeit at a slower pace in recent months.
Furniture store sales for the month of April totaled $11.6 billion, up 7.8% from $10.7 billion in April 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Overall retail sales rose 5.2% to $724.1 billion, from $688.6 billion in April 2024.
Furniture store sales increased a meager .3% from $11.52 billion in March, while overall retail sales rose .1%, from $723.7 billion in March.
The rise in furniture store sales suggests that consumers are heading into stores to get ahead of higher tariffs on products from around the world, including Asia, where much of the U.S. residential case goods and some upholstery, notably motion furniture, is produced. That activity could continue in the month of May as most countries still face a temporary 10% rate, and China’s rate has been temporarily reduced from 145% to 30% for a 90-day period that ends in August.
The largest year-over-year gain was seen at motor vehicle and parts dealers, where sales rose 9.4% to $141.6 billion, from $129.5 billion. Health and beauty stores had an 8.5% increase, to $38.9 billion, from $35.8 billion in April 2024, while restaurants and bars saw sales rise 7.8% to $99.1 billion, from $91.9 billion.
Other sectors that saw an increase included: non-store retailers, including e-commerce businesses and catalogs, where sales were up 7.5% to $123.5 billion, from $116.2 billion; miscellaneous store retailers including pet supply stores, religious supply stores and florists, up 6% to $14.3 billion, from $13.5 billion; clothing and clothing accessories stores, up 3.5% to $25.8 billion, from $25 billion; building material and garden and equipment supplies dealers, up 3.2% to $41.4 billion, from $40.1 billion; and general merchandise stores, including department stores, up 2.8% to $76.9 billion, from $74.8 billion.
Also up were food and beverage stores, where sales rose 2.7% to $84.4 billion, from $82.2 billion; sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and bookstores, which saw sales rise 1.7% to $7.9 billion from $7.8 billion in April 2024; and electronics and appliance stores, where sales were about flat, or up just.1% to $7.66 billion from $7.65 billion.
The only sectors with a decrease were gasoline stations, down 6.8% to $51.1 billion, from $54.8 billion, and department stores, part of the general merchandise store category, down 3.4% to $3.3 billion, from $3.4 billion in April 2024.
While it’s unclear how long the increase in furniture retail sales will continue, sales at their current level continue to outpace pre-Covid periods and even beyond. For example, the $11.6 billion in sales in April compared with $10.7 billion in April 2024, $11.4 billion in 2023, $9.8 billion in 2019 and 2018, $9.2 billion in 2017, $9 billion in 2016 and $8.7 billion in 2015.
