The value of furniture and lighting retail sales in England Scotland and Wales jumped by almost a third in September, registering the second best September performance in more than 35 years.
Average weekly sales reached £1.474bn, a rise of 32.6% on August 2022.
Sales were 7.25% higher than September 2021, 1.68% lower than September 2020 and up 1.24% on September 2019.
The Office for National Statistics data shows that September 2022 enjoyed the seventh best level of sales of 441 months since comparable records began in January 1986, and the best since June 2021.
It is topped only by March 2022 (£1.598bn) – which was also a record for flooring sales; December 2020 (£1.53bn); June 2022 (£1.52bn); December 2018 (£1,51bn); December 2019 (£1.507bn) and September 2020 (£1.499bn).
The figures are not seasonally adjusted and do not take inflation into account and are subject to revision.
