Home Furnishings Sales Off 20% from Last Year

New York, NY, Nov. 5, 2008--U.S. consumers cut spending in October and avoided purchases of items over $1,000, according to figures released on Wednesday by SpendingPulse, the retail data service of MasterCard Advisors.

"The numbers for October are very negative across the board," said Michael McNamara, vice president at MasterCard Advisors, of sales figures tracked by SpendingPulse.

"Any area that deals with consumer durables, especially areas like furniture, electronics and appliances ... that relies heavily on sales purchases that exceed $1,000 in value are under significant pressure," he said.

According to SpendingPulse, sales of electronics and appliances tumbled 19.9 percent, compared with a decline of 13.8 percent in September.

"If you take out the purchases above $1,000, the sector is really down about 10 percent," McNamara said. "Sales above $1,000 just aren't really moving."

That trend, along with further weakness in the housing sector, also hurt demand for home-related merchandise. Furniture sales dropped 15.1 percent in October from a year ago, while sales of home furnishings, or decor, fell 20.6 percent.