;
COVID-19 SERVICE: We are heightening our efforts to assist the UK retail & leisure industry through this challenging period. Explore this service now… COVID-19 SERVICE

UK Furniture & Flooring Sector Report summary

February 2021

Period covered: Period covered: 29 November – 02 January 2021

Note: Reporting periods are either one month or two months behind the current month as standard.

Lockdown hampers growth

  • Furniture & Flooring sales plummeted in January, falling by 29.8% year-on-year..
  • Sales growth was hampered by the announcement of the third national lockdown on 4th January to begin the following day, leading to the closure of non-essential retailers.
  • Indeed, during periods of lockdown, parts of the sector that are more reliant on physical touchpoints throughout the customer journey have been particularly hard-hit.

Market composition

  • Retail sales fell by 1.7% in January, year-on-year, according to the Retail Economics Retail Sales Index (value, non-seasonally adjusted, exc. Fuel).
  • There was a significant shift towards online as consumers reverted seamlessly to lockdown shopping behaviour.

Housing market muted

  • Data on housing market activity weakened compared to its stellar performance in recent months, with indicators for enquiries, agreed sales and new instructions all deteriorating in January, according to RICS.
  • Welcome news for the sector could arrive in next weeks Budget with speculation that the government may extend the stamp duty holiday, affording home buyers more time to complete deals.

Furniture sales decline as non-essential retail closes again

Source: Retail Economics

Economic retail reports

Retail Sector Reports

Explore

Connect

Need insights from our latest report?

UK Furniture & Flooring Sector Report: April 2024

Access this report with a FREE 30 day subscription trial!

  • Market Share - top 10 Furniture and Flooring retailers
  • Market Size estimates (£m)
  • Furniture and Flooring Sales Growth by category
  • Total Spending by category (£m)
  • Online Furniture and Flooring Sales (y-o-y)
  • Forecasts for 2021 - 2025
  • Footfall by channel and region
  • Regional Weather data and more…

Explore more insights

View other retail insights

Other reports

View more insights