Furniture retail sales rose slightly during May 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 1.7% to £1.17bn from £1.15bn in April. Compared to the previous year, sales were up 5.4% from £1.11bn.
Floorcovering retail sales decreased month-on-month, down by 6.1% to £226.6m from £241.4m. Compared to the same time last year, sales rose by 2.7% from £220.6m.
Retail sales volumes (quantity bought) are estimated to have risen by 1.2% in May 2026. This follows a fall of 1.0% in April 2026. As for the value (amount spent), this was up 3.6% month-on-month to £42.4bn.
Sales volumes for non-food stores (the total of department, clothing, household, and other non-food stores) rose by 1.2%. Retailer comments suggested that promotions and hot weather boosted sales of items such as outdoor furniture and fans.
Within the monthly series, online sales values rose by 3.3% over the month to May 2026, an increase of 12.2% compared with May 2025.
The total spend (the sum of in-store and online sales) rose by 0.9% over the month. As a result, the proportion of sales made online rose from 28.1% in April 2026 to 28.8% in May 2026.
Commenting on the retail sales figures up to May 2026, ONS senior statistician Jon Gough said: “Retail sales continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace, in the most recent three months, with department stores doing especially well. Feedback from retailers suggested the hot weather in May helped sales of items such as fans and paddling pools.
“Computer and telecoms stores continued to do well following product launches in March, while online retailers also performed strongly, with feedback suggesting that this was helped by promotions. These were only slightly offset by a small fall in food sales.”
