Furniture retail sales increased during March on last month as well as against an annual comparison.

According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, furniture and lighting retail sales rose 22% to £1.49bn from £1.22bn in February. Compared to the previous year, sales were up 5.6% from £1.41bn.

Floorcovering retail sales increased month-on-month, up by 31.8% to £342.3m from £259.6m. Compared to the same time last year, sales rose by 23.6% from £276.8m.

Retail sales volumes (quantity bought) are estimated to have risen by 0.4% in March 2025. As for the value (amount spent), this was up 30% month-on-month to £49bn.

Non-food stores sales volumes – the total of department, clothing, household and other non-food stores – rose by 1.7% over the month. This put monthly sales volumes at their highest level since March 2022. Within non-food stores, clothing stores were the subsector with the strongest growth with retailers mentioning good weather boosting sales.

Other non-food stores also rose in March 2025, which was strongest within second-hand goods stores (includes antiques and auction houses) and stores selling garden supplies. Retailer comments pointed to the good weather.

Non-store retailing sales volumes were up on the month, with similar commentary received about the weather, specifically mentioning boosts to clothing and DIY goods.

The amount spent online, known as “online spending values”, rose by 2.0% over the month to March 2025. Sales values also rose by 5.4% when comparing March 2025 with March 2024. However, they fell by 0.3% when comparing the three months to March 2025 with the three months to December 2024. Total spend – the sum of in-store and online sales – rose by 0.3% over the month. As a result, the proportion of sales made online rose from 26.4% in February 2025 to 26.8% in March 2025.

Commenting on the retail sales figures for March, ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said: “Retail sales rose again in March for the third consecutive month. The good weather helped to boost sales across a variety of sectors. Garden centres reported robust trading and the sunny weather also helped brighten sales of DIY goods and clothing.

“Food sales, particularly within supermarkets again had a poor month. The bigger picture shows retail sales are up across the quarterly and annual period, but are still a little below pre-pandemic levels.”

Responding to the latest ONS Retail Sales Index figures, Kris Hamer, Director of Insight at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Sales continued to grow in March as the sunshine and warm weather encouraged people to spend more. Clothing and footwear performed well as consumers sought to take advantage of the good weather and prepare for summer. The sunny weather also gave a boost to garden supplies and DIY, as people spent more time outside.

“It was not all good news for retailers as the start of April unleashed over £5bn in costs from increases to employer NICs and National Living Wage. This will rise to £7bn when the new packaging tax comes into effect later this year. Furthermore, the upcoming business rates reform could see 4,000 shops paying even more in business rates, which would cost shops and jobs. Government’s aim is to support high streets across the country, which is why they must ensure no shop pays more as part of their rates reform.”