Holiday Sales Exceed Expectations as Furniture Stores Wait for a Lift

Originally published December 4, 2024. This version was rebuilt from NRF's Thanksgiving weekend survey, The Conference Board and the Census Bureau's retail report for the FIN archive, and the facts are as of that date.

The holiday season started with big crowds and better moods. Furniture stores, though, were coming off a weak October and needed the season to deliver.

The short version

• NRF said a record 197 million consumers shopped over Thanksgiving weekend.
• The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose to 111.7 in November.
• Census said October furniture store sales fell 1.3% from September.

Holiday shopping exceeds expectations

NRF said 197 million consumers shopped from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, and the weekend exceeded expectations despite a shorter season. In-store shoppers rose to 126 million from 121.4 million, while online shoppers fell to 124.3 million from 134.2 million.

Black Friday was the busiest day, with 81.7 million in-store shoppers, the highest since the pandemic. More store visits are good news for furniture retailers that rely on showroom traffic.

Confidence improves

The Conference Board said its index rose 2.1 points to 111.7 in November. The Present Situation Index rose 4.8 points to 140.9, and the Expectations Index edged up to 92.3, well above the recession signal of 80.

Better confidence after the election gave retailers hope that big-ticket spending would pick up in early 2025.

Furniture stores lag

The Census Bureau's advance report showed furniture and home furnishings store sales down 1.3% in October from September and up 1.5% from a year earlier. Furniture had not yet seen the lift that other categories were getting.

With high mortgage rates holding back home sales, furniture stores depended on promotions and holiday traffic to close the year.

Conclusion

Shoppers came out in force for the holiday weekend and felt better about the economy. Furniture stores needed that mood to turn into larger tickets in December and January.

Related on FIN

• Furniture Showrooms Run on Morale
• Furniture Shoppers Are Holding Back

Sources

• National Retail Federation, 197 million consumers shop over Thanksgiving holiday weekend (Dec. 3, 2024)
• The Conference Board, Consumer Confidence Index, November 2024
• U.S. Census Bureau, Advance monthly retail sales, October 2024