Washington — According to the Department of Commerce’s advance monthly estimates, the furniture and home furnishings category grew for the third consecutive month in November.
The furniture and home furnishings category posted adjusted estimated sales of $11.324 billion in November, up 0.7% from $11.246 billion in November 2023, following last month’s advance estimates for October that showed a year-over-year gain and September’s figures that turned out to be higher with revisions. Additionally, the preliminary adjusted October total of $11.292 billion was 0.3% lower than the November figures.
Sales of furniture and home goods are up 1.5% year over year for the three months of September through November, but the category’s total sales of $122.665 billion through 11 months are still 3.3% below 2023’s pace.
According to the overall retail snapshot, November’s adjusted sales of $724.609 billion were up 3.8% from $698.105 billion in the previous year and 0.7% from the adjusted $719.676 billion in October.
November saw notable year-over-year increases across a number of categories, with non-store retailers leading the way with a 9.8% increase in sales. Dealers of building materials, garden equipment, and supplies reported a 4.1% increase, while those of motor vehicles and components recorded a 6.5% increase.
A subsample of the whole retail and food services sample from the U.S. Census Bureau serves as the basis for the DOC’s advance estimates. About 5,500 retail and food services companies are chosen using a stratified random sampling technique, and their revenues are subsequently weighted and compared to the total of over 3 million retail and food services companies.
