by Monthly retail analysis also shows a meager increase from October, as competition for spending in other areas rises
WASHINGTON — November furniture and home furnishings store sales grew by a modest .53% compared to November 2024, according to the latest CNBC/NRF (National Retail Federation) Retail Monitor released Friday.
This pales in comparison to retail sales overall, which the report said were up 4.53% year over year and .12% from October. Furniture sales were only up .01% compared with October.
The year-over-year estimates are not seasonally adjusted, while the month over month sales are seasonally adjusted. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, seasonally adjusted data removes seasonal changes that occur such as price fluctuations resulting from seasonal changes such as production cycles, holidays and seasonal sales, while unadjusted data reflects actual prices consumers pay.
The report noted that the Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales, which excludes restaurants, auto dealers and gas stations, was up 4.66% from November 2024, but down .04% from October.
“Retail sales showed healthy year-over-year gains in November while month-over-month data was largely flat,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement. “Shoppers looking for online deals may have held back a bit until Cyber Monday, which landed in December due to a late Thanksgiving, likely shifting some spending.”
The estimates are based on anonymized credit and debit card purchase data compiled by Affinity Solutions, which the NRF said does not need to be revised monthly or annually.
The report said that November sales were up in all but one category on a yearly basis, including digital products, sporting goods stores and clothing stores. They were down in six out of nine categories on a monthly basis.
Highlights are as follows:
+ Digital products including electronic books and games were up 14.81% year over year, but were down .37% from October.
+ Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores were up 8.96 year over year, and up .28% month over month.
+ Clothing and accessories stores were up 8.16% from November 2024, but were down .04% from October.
+ Grocery and beverage stores were up 3.89% from November 2024 and up .74% from October.
+ General merchandise stores were up 3.1% year over year and down .73% from October.
+ Health and personal care stores were up 1.31% from November 2024, but were down .19% from October.
+ Electronics and appliance stores were down 2.94% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 1.01% year over year unadjusted.
+ Building and garden supply stores were down 9.38% from November and down 1.74 from November.
Shay added that consumers have been focused on “value and spending carefully during the holiday period, and retailers are offering products at competitive prices to fit every budget. We remain confident in our 2025 holiday forecast as well as our retail sales projections for the full year.”
The NRF forecast that 2025 holiday sales from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 will increase between 3.7% and 4.2% compared with 2024 to just over $1 trillion. It forecast that retail sales for the entire year will increase between 2.7% and 3.7% over 2024 to as much as $5.48 trillion.
