Sunshine helps brighten retail mood

Sales figures from BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker for the week ending 15 March 2009 were as follows:

  • Total Sales: -0.3%

Total sales on a like-for-like basis fell by a marginal 0.3 per cent.

  • Non-fashion: +2.7%

Non-fashion results remained positive, although down on last week, with some stores reporting stronger trade. However, demand for general leisure goods was softer, with some evidence that consumers were shying away from these stores in reaction to the warmer weather.

  • Fashion: -2.9%

Fashion retailers had a mixed week with some stores gaining from good take-up of spring ranges, offset by lower demand in other categories, resulting in sales falling by 2.9 per cent. Young fashion and footwear sales were generally strong, while formalwear, accessories and lingerie were all notably weaker.

  • Homewares: +0.1%

The weather played into the hands of homeware retailers helping takings to grow marginally, albeit against weak comparisons last year, for the first time in nine weeks. Demand for cookware, decorative goods and lighting were all up, boosted by a surge in DIY activity. However, most stores are measuring against a very low base with many having to work extremely hard in order to generate sales anywhere near desired levels.

  • Non-Store: +37.5%


Non store sales continued to remain upbeat, but were down on last week, possibly reflecting that the warmer weather encouraged people to be out of doors.  However, online and mail order sales remains an extremely high growth channel for many mid-market retailers, especially those in the fashion sector.

Rupert Eastell, Head of Retail at BDO, says: “With most of the country basking in fine weather, the mood amongst consumers brightened this week. As a result, many stores benefited from a strong uptake of seasonal spring products.”

“This was especially marked across homeware stores where the decent weather helped boost demand of DIY related goods.  However, despite these helpful developments, fashion sales remained negative with some stores not witnessing any pick-up in demand,” concludes Eastell.

Sales this week last year (w/e 15/3/08)
Conditions were extremely poor this week last year with negative sales across all three sectors. There was evidence of consumers reducing discretionary spending in many areas in the face of worsening economic conditions. The cold and wet weather also impacted demand, with fashion (-11.9 per cent) and homeware (-10.2 per cent) especially weak, while non-fashion (-4.5 per cent) also decreased.

Source: BDO High Street Sales Tracker


ENDS

For more information, please contact Dee Crooks at BDO on 020 7893 2761 / 07815 172 051 or email dee.crooks@bdo.co.uk

Notes to editors:

BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker outlines weekly sales changes of more than 60 mid market retailers with some 10,000 individual stores. These are mainly located on high streets through the UK, however, they exclude grocers. The results are published every Friday.

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