by Overall 1.5% increase in retail sales for the month driven by large gains in e-commerce and restaurants and bars
WASHINGTON — Furniture store sales continued to slide in June, posting a 4.6% decline compared to June 2022, but picked up slightly from May, with a 1.4% increase.
This compared to a 1.5% year-over-year gain for overall retail sales, which were bolstered by nearly double-digit increases at non-store retailers and restaurants and bars but weighed down by a 22.7% drop in gasoline sales.
In June, furniture and home furnishings store sales totaled $11.3 billion, which the government said was down 4.6% from the $11.8 billion recorded in June 2022 but up 1.4% from $11.1 billion in May.
Overall retail sales totaled $689.5 billion, up 1.5% from $679.4 billion in June 2022, and up just .2% from $688.2 billion in May.
Furniture store sales were the third worst performing segment tracked by the U.S. government — only gasoline stations, with a 22.7% year-over-year slide, and department stores, with a 5.2% slide — performed worse. Gasoline sales fell to $52.5 billion from $67.9 billion and department store sales totaled $10.9 billion, compared to $11.5 billion in June 2022.
Also experiencing year-over-year declines were building materials and garden supply stores, whose sales fell 3.2% to $41.4 billion from $42.8 billion in June 2022, and sporting goods, hobby stores, musical instrument and bookstores, which declined 1.3% in June, to $8.5 billion, from $8.6 billion in June 2022.
The biggest winners on the list were non-store retailers including e-commerce and catalogs, which rose 9.4% to $115.2 billion, from $105.3 billion in June 2022, and restaurants and bars, which rose 8.4% to $88.9 billion from $82 billion in June 2022.
Also seeing increases were health and personal care stores, including pharmacies, which rose 6.3% to $35.6 billion, from $33.5 billion; motor vehicle and parts dealers, which rose 5.3% to $133.2 billion, from $126.5 billion; miscellaneous store retailers (including highly specialized businesses such as flower and pet stores) rose 1.5% to $15.6 billion, from $15.4 billion, and food and beverage stores, which rose 1.3% to $81.2 billion, from $80.2 billion.
Smaller increases were seen at electronics and appliance stores, which rose .9% to $7.9 billion, from $7.8 billion in June 2022, and clothing and clothing accessories stores, which rose .7% to $25.9 billion, from $25.7 billion in June 2022.
For furniture stores, this was the fifth year-over-year decrease in a row each month since February. Overall year-over-year monthly retail sales have risen each month since January, according to the government survey.
However, for the month of June, furniture and home furnishings store sales were still above their pre-pandemic levels. According to U.S. government data, June 2019 sales were just over $10 billion, compared to the $11.3 billion last month.
