New data signals high street Christmas wipeout

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Nov 6, 2018

High street retailers are bracing for more pain as new reports reveal disappointing sales figures ahead of the important festive period.

Clothing and other non-food retailers continued to struggle to drive stores sales in October, as warmer-than-normal temperatures and Black Friday anticipation kept shoppers away from the high street.

In fact, non-food store sales declined by 2% over the three months to October, and by 3.3% on a like-for-like basis, according to the latest BRC - KPMG Retail Sales Monitor. This compares to a 6.7% increase in non-food online sales during the same period, demonstrating shoppers’ growing preference for e-commerce.

Previous months have painted a similar picture, however October was expected to bring a much-needed boost as it kicks off the crucial ‘golden quarter’. “But with October’s like-for-like sales flatlining at 0.1%, it was a bit of a non-starter,” said Paul Martin, head of retail at KPMG.

“Demand was mainly dampened by continued economic uncertainty, as well as the anticipation for the deep discounting ahead – especially now that Black Friday weekend has become such a permanent feature,” he continued.

The colder weather towards the end of the month might have helped lift sales of winter clothing, but it was not enough to offset a decline, with a separate report revealing a 2.4% fall in clothing spending during October.

Data from Barclaycard published on Tuesday also showed that department store spending fell by almost 6% last month amid several high profile store closures.

“Christmas is going to be subdued, it is going to be tough,”Nick Bubb, an independent retail expert told The Daily Mail. “Black Friday is going to drive more spending, but it will come at a discount.”

UK retailers are not only facing weak consumer demand. They are also under pressure to develop new strategies ahead of Brexit, with the prospect of a “no-deal” edging nearer and the threat of higher import costs.