WASHINGTON – Sales at furniture and home furnishings stores weren’t as robust as the total industry, but they mirrored the overall trend.
The CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales (excluding restaurants, automobile dealers and gasoline stations) was down 0.49% month over month in September but up 5.72% year over year. That compared with increases of 0.26% month over month and 6.67% year over year in August.
For the furniture and home furnishings store segment, sales in September declined 1.87% month over month seasonally adjusted but eked up 0.56% year over year unadjusted.
NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay speculated that consumers took a break from spending in September after two months of healthy Back-to-School shopping.
“Amid continued economic uncertainty, consumers opted to preserve spending power in preparation for the important holiday season,” he said.
In contrast to the survey-based retail sales numbers collected by the Census Bureau, the Retail Monitor uses actual, anonymized credit and debit card purchase data compiled by Affinity Solutions.
Total sales were up 5.12% year over year for the first nine months of the year and core sales were up 5.32%.
September sales were up in all but one category on a yearly basis (building and garden supply stores), led by digital products, sporting goods stores and clothing stores. Sales were down in five out of nine categories on a monthly basis.
Specifics from key sectors beyond furniture and home furnishings stores include:
- Digital products (such as electronic books and games) were up 0.52% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 21.35% year over year unadjusted.
- Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores were up 0.74% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 8.81% year over year unadjusted.
- Clothing and accessories stores were down 1.06% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 7.35% year over year unadjusted.
- General merchandise stores were down 0.62% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 5.52% year over year unadjusted.
- Grocery and beverage stores were down 0.76% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 4.79% year over year unadjusted.
- Health and personal care stores were up 0.38% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 4.65% year over year unadjusted.
- Electronics and appliance stores were down 0.12% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 4.43% year over year unadjusted.
- Building and garden supply stores were up 0.53% month over month seasonally adjusted but down 1.2% year over year unadjusted.
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