Furniture retail sales increased during August on last month and were slightly up against an annual comparison.

According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, furniture and lighting retail sales rose 2.7% to £1.13bn from £1.10bn in July. Compared to the previous year, sales were up 4.6% from £1.08bn.

Floorcovering retail sales increased month-on-month, up by 6.2% to £227.5m from £214.1m. Compared to the same time last year, sales fell by 1.5% from £231.1m.

Sales volumes (quantity bought) rose by 0.5% over the month during August 2025, following a 0.5% rise in July, and rose by 0.7% over the year to August 2025. As for the value (amount spent), this was down 2.4% month-on-month to £39.1bn.

Non-food stores (the total of department, clothing, household, and other non-food stores) rose by 1.1%. The rise was across all four sub-sectors, mainly because of increases in second-hand goods (within other non-food) and clothing stores. Retailer comments mentioned dry weather as a reason for the increase.

The amount spent online, sales values rose by 0.4% over the month to August 2025, and by 4.7% when comparing August 2025 with August 2024.

Total spend (the sum of in-store and online sales) rose by 0.6% over the month. As a result, the proportion of sales made online showed little change, falling from 27.7% in July 2025 to 27.6% in August 2025.

Commenting on the retail sales figures for August, ONS Senior Statistician Hannah Finselbach said: “Retail sales fell slightly across the latest three months though at a slower rate of decline than seen last month.

“This was mainly due to a poor period for non-food stores, such as antiques dealers and auction houses as well as tech stores, with fuel sales also falling. These were only partially offset by increases from online and clothing shops.

“Looking at the monthly picture, retail sales increased in August with feedback suggesting the good weather helped boost sales of clothing.”