September noticed the slowest retail gross sales progress since retailers reopened post-COVID restrictions on account of a mixture of inflation, financial disaster and an uexpected financial institution vacation, figures present.
In-store and on-line gross sales elevated by simply 2.8% in September on final 12 months, based on BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker (HSST).
It comes after an identical poor set of ends in August, which was the earlier lowest post-COVID efficiency for retail gross sales.
The month started with gross sales up 3.9% and peaked within the second week at 4.9%, earlier than falling to 2.8% and 1.3% within the third and fourth weeks respectively.
The fourth week noticed a financial institution vacation to mark the Queen’s funeral.
Fashion gross sales had been up simply 6.7% on final September, when retailers would usually anticipate customers to be spending on their autumn and winter wardrobes.
Lifestyle gross sales had been up a meagre 1.2%, even decrease than these recorded in August, which was the sector’s earlier worst efficiency since shops reopened in February final 12 months.
September additionally noticed disappointing outcomes for the homewares sector, the place gross sales fell by 6.3%, regarded as a mirrored image of customers suspending larger purchases after spending vital sums refreshing their houses throughout COVID lockdowns.
Read extra: Spending calculator – see which costs have gone up or down
‘The one vivid spot’
Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO, mentioned: “While the overall like-for-like is not quite going backwards across all discretionary spending categories, it’s clear that it’s trending downwards.
“In addition, with the pound’s present degree towards the US greenback and euro, retailers that depend on imports are paying extra for his or her merchandise, consuming into already slim margins.
“The one bright spot is that with the pound’s weakness, the UK becomes an attractive destination for overseas tourists doing their Christmas shopping. However, this is unlikely to provide much of a boost to retailers beyond flagship stores in major cities.
“Retailers might want to give attention to mitigating these impacts, by making operational financial savings wherever potential, and being very sensible with their product buying, preserving it related and targeted on their goal buyer, thereby limiting the chance of excessive stockholdings on the finish of the season.
“However, with such turbulence in the wider economy, there is only so much that retailers can do to preserve their business and there is therefore no doubt that the sector needs to brace for a harsh winter ahead.”
Footfall figures
Meanwhile, the most recent soccer figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Sensormatic IQ present whole UK footfall was down 9.8% in September on three years beforehand – a comparability designed to keep away from COVID-related fluctuations – a 2.6 share level enchancment from August.
High streets noticed an 11.9% drop, whereas procuring centre visits fell 22.7% in comparison with three years in the past.
BRC chief govt Helen Dickinson mentioned: “Footfall reached its highest level since the onset of the pandemic, coming within 10% of its pre-pandemic levels.
“These figures belie the collapse in client confidence which has resulted in falling gross sales volumes all year long. Meanwhile, hovering value inflation is resulting in upwards stress on costs.”
Source: information.sky.com”