Furniture retail sales rose during June on last month while also rising against an annual comparison.
According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, furniture and lighting retail sales rose 25% to £1.55bn from £1.24bn in May. Compared to the previous year, sales were up 13.1% from £1.37bn.
June also marked the highest sales of 2026 so far, surpassing that of £1.51bn recorded in March. It also marked the highest sales since December 2023 when furniture and lighting retail sales stood at £1.55bn.
Floorcovering retail sales increased month-on-month, up by 19.5% to £267.3m from £223.6m. Compared to the same time last year, sales rose by 10.3% from £242.2m.
Retail sales volumes (quantity bought) are estimated to have risen by 1% in June 2026. This follows a rise of 1.2% in May 2026. As for the value (amount spent), this was up 24.7% month-on-month to £53bn.
Sales volumes for non-food stores (the total of department, clothing, household, and other non-food stores) rose by 1.2%. Within household goods stores, furniture stores sales rose across all three months of Quarter 2.
Within the monthly series, online sales values rose by 2.8% over the month to June 2026, an increase of 14.4% compared with June 2025.
The total spend (the sum of in-store and online sales) rose by 0.8% over the month. As a result, the proportion of online sales rose from 28.9% in May 2026 to 29.4% in June 2026, the highest proportion since April 2021.
Commenting on the retail sales figures up to June 2026, ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said: “Retail sales grew again in the latest quarter. Internet retailers did especially well, with businesses telling us that this was because of promotions and the warm weather, with strong demand in June for outdoor products, air conditioning and clothing. Sports merchandise also sold well online.
“With internet retailers faring well, the proportion of online sales has risen to its highest since spring 2021 when coronavirus restrictions were ending.”
