Furniture Stores Top Selling Months
: Percent of Furniture Store Sales by Quarter
in Selected Years
April 29,
2017 by Jane Chero in General 
This is the second factoid in a series of four factoids detailing monthly Furniture Store sales and the top selling times of the year to buy furniture and home furnishings. Many life events spur home furnishings purchases. But along with buying a new home, marriage, and having children, the time of the year plays an important part in overall Furniture Store sales.
Economic events can always alter consumer confidence, but the overall monthly ebb and flow of Furniture Store sales has changed through the years. Once the pinnacle of furniture purchases, the November/December holiday season has lost some of its sales glamour, not only with furniture but will all consumer products as a total group. It is still the biggest season in total retail sales of consumer goods, but no doubt the 4th quarter has lost market share. For Furniture Stores, May and August have always been steady and strong, but March has emerged as a huge sales month. Online filing of income tax returns has resulted in quick returns for the end of February and especially throughout March.
Two decades ago in 1997, the 4th quarter far outreached the previous three quarters in Furniture Store sales. At 27.6 percent, the 4th quarter was 4.4 percent higher than the 1st quarter’s dismal 23.2 percent. Over the next 15 years, both quarter 1 and quarter 3 percentage of sales increased, while quarter 4 dropped below 25 percent. Although 2016’s holiday season performed better than 2012, quarter 3 rises as the year’s top-performing period.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade and Food Services