UK Furniture & Flooring Sector Report summary
March 2022
Period covered: Period covered: 30 January – 26 February 2022
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 rose by a considerable 00% in February year-on-year, according to the Retail Economics Retail Sales Index. While, sales still came short of pre-pandemic levels, down 00% for the month compared to February 2020 period.
Spending levels for this category grew by 00% on the previous month’s reading.
The strong double-digits growth for two consecutive months in this category could be explained by the complete lift of lockdown restrictions and the full re-opening of shops which saw traditional try-before-you-buy products such as clothing & footwear, home accessories and furniture products boost retail performance this month.
In addition, furniture retailers are increasingly providing sales discounts on products and an abundance of interest-free finance options to their customers, all of which has attracted many shoppers to this category.
Despite stellar growth in retail performance over the last few months, key questions remains concerning how much consumers are willing to spend on high ticket items, especially in uncertain periods, with the GfK’s major purchases index falling for the fourth consecutive month to -15 in February.
Post-covid era fosters outdoor retail activities
The continued easing of lockdown restrictions created optimism among both retailers and shoppers. As the UK learns to ‘live with Covid’ from 27 January, households saw an end to work-from-home guidance, face coverings in public places and Covid passports; with all remaining Covid restrictions later lifted on 24 February.
This brought the largest single monthly uplift in footfall since June, with footfall rising by 00% in February compared to January.
This could possibly explain why, despite consumer confidence falling by a significant seven points to -26 in February, many outdoor related categories saw some release in pent-up demand (e.g. furniture & flooring, jewellery, clothing and footwear).
Elsewhere, consumers have transferred their spending on leisure activities with hospitality, hotels and events rising significantly.
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February saw the strongest annual growth in house prices since 2007
Source: ONS, Retail Economics analysis
