UK Furniture & Flooring Sector Report summary
December 2023
Period covered: Period covered: 29 October – 25 November 2023
3 minute read
Note: This report summary is one or two months behind the current month as standard reporting practice. The content is indicative only and incomplete with certain data undisclosed. Become a member to access this data or take out a free 30 day membership trial now.
Furniture & Flooring sales
Furniture & Flooring sales fell by xx% YoY in November, according to the Retail Economics Retail Sales Index.
ONS data shows the wider Households Goods category faced xx% YoY shop price inflation in the month, pointing to a decline in sales volumes.
Sales volumes in the Furniture, Lighting, etc category fell by xx% YoY in November (ONS).
Changing macroeconomic backdrop
November saw CPI inflation fall back to 3.9% from 4.6%, driven by easing fuel prices rather than retail prices(ONS). Food inflation fell to 9.2% but remains up almost 30% in the period between November 2021 and 2023, putting continued pressure on discretionary incomes.
Easing topline inflation, combined with strong wage growth and easing mortgage rates, resulted in GfK’s consumer confidence measure rebounding six points to -24 in November, and increasing by a further two points in December to -22.
Notably, GfK’s Major Purchase Index increased 10 points in November and a further one point in December to -23, pointing to greater willingness to purchase big-ticket items such as furniture.
However, it should be noted that these measures remain firmly in negative territory, indicating reduced pessimism rather than increased spending.
Furniture & Flooring sales values and volumes therefore remained negative in November, against an evolving macroeconomic climate that brings uncertainty around job prospects and personal finances in 2024.
Housing market subdued
The UK housing market, a key driver of Furniture & Flooring sales, remains subdued but experienced slight improvements in November.
House prices increased by 0.5% MoM in November, the second consecutive monthly increase. However, much like the previous month, this uptick was driven by low inventory levels rather than increased buyer demand (Halifax).
Indeed, house prices remained in decline on an annual basis, falling 1.0% YoY in the month.
Although measures for buyer enquiries, agreed sales and new instructions remain negative, pressure eased considerably in November according to RICS.
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Housing market cooling
Source: Halifax
