Sales of home furnishings fell short of the general trend in September | CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor

Washington – Although retail sales fell in September compared to August, consumers continued to spend more than in the same period last year.

According to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, total retail sales, excluding cars and gasoline, fell a seasonally adjusted 0.32% month-over-month in September but rose an unadjusted 0.55% year-over-year. In comparison, August’s increase was 0.45% month-on-month and 2.11% year-on-year.

However, sales in furniture and furnishings stores remained well behind the pace – they fell by 1.5% month-on-month on a seasonally adjusted basis and by 4.8% on an unadjusted basis year-on-year.

“After seven straight months of gains, consumers declined slightly in September, which is historically a weak month for retail sales,” said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of NRF.

He suspected that geopolitical tensions, uncertainty about the election outcome, anticipation of the port strike and ongoing inflation in the services sector could also have influenced consumers’ purchasing decisions.

September’s monthly decline was the first since January for both total and core sales and only the second since Retail Monitor began tracking sales in October 2022. Total sales increased 1.91% year-over-year in the first nine months of 2024 and core sales increased 2.18%.

Unlike Census Bureau survey-based numbers, Retail Monitor uses actual, anonymized credit and debit card purchase data compiled by Affinity Solutions and does not require revision on a monthly or annual basis.

September sales rose year-over-year in five of nine retail categories, led by online sales, clothing and accessories stores, and health and personal care stores.

In addition to the above-mentioned breakthrough in furniture and furnishing stores, there are also special features from key sectors:

• Online and other non-store sales increased 1.59% month-over-month seasonally adjusted and 15.21% year-over-year unadjusted.
• Clothing and accessories stores increased a seasonally adjusted 1.06% month-over-month and an unadjusted 10.31% year-over-year.
• Health and personal care stores increased a seasonally adjusted 0.04% month-over-month and unadjusted 4.82% year-over-year.
• General stores declined 0.1% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted basis but increased 2.09% year-over-year on an unadjusted basis.
• Food and beverage stores fell 0.1% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted basis, but rose 0.42% year-over-year unadjusted.
• Electronics and household appliance stores recorded a seasonally adjusted decrease of 0.6% month-on-month and an unadjusted decrease of 1.63% year-on-year.
• Hardware stores and garden centers recorded a seasonally adjusted decline of 1.82% month-on-month and a decline of 4.25% year-on-year (unadjusted).
• Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores experienced a seasonally adjusted decline of 1.29% month-over-month and an unadjusted decline of 9.46% year-over-year.

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