Consumer spending on flooring dropped below £200m for the first time in a year in December, as the traditional slowdown kicked in but annual sales soared.
Consumers in England, Wales and Scotland spent £194,366,000 according to Office for National Statistics’ first estimate of December’s sales.
It was the first time sales had dropped below £200m since December 2021, but was still 3.2% ahead of that month.
Sales were 24.3% lower than November 2022.
Sales were 188% higher than December 2020 and 41% higher than December 2019.
Of the 444 months since January 1986, when ONS began recording comparable data, December 2022 ranked as the 141st highest.
Total sales for 2022 totalled £2,778,939,000, an increase of 40.6%.
The figures are not seasonally adjusted, do not take inflation into account and are subject to revision.