Study: Floridians are buying more clothes, fewer couches

Floridians are holding back on buying luxury items like furniture and sporting goods, while at the same time they are increasingly purchasing things required for everyday life such as food and clothing, according to a new analysis.

Those were among some of the findings from business funding and savings platform Swoop, which analyzed data from 2023 and 2024 provided by the U.S. Census to determine which sectors in each state were experiencing growth and which saw declines in sales.

The leading sector in Florida is clothing and clothing accessories stores, which saw 4.9% year-over-year growth, according to the analysis. Other sectors dealing in essentials like food and beverage stores and gasoline also saw growth.