Premium is buoyant in UK, despite cost-of-living crisis - CACI Brand Dimensions report

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 3, 2023

Premium brands are seeing strong sales growth at present, despite the sharp rise in the cost of living, a new report from consumer and location intelligence specialist CACI claims.

In tough economic times, it’s budget brands that often prosper as consumers seek value, while luxury is also usually buoyant due to its core customers still having money to spend. It’s those in the middle that are frequently the biggest sufferers.

But premium seems to be defying the trend in the current situation, suggesting “a greater focus on quality over quantity amongst consumers”. CACI added that in-store shopping outperforming online is also “showcasing the value of retail experience”.

The company has a new data platform that compares spend across 300 well-known brands representative of the UK market. Called Brand Dimensions, it shows that 35% of premium retailers saw year-on-year sales growth in December, compared to 19% that saw declines. 

Brands such as Reiss, Snow+Rock, Patagonia, and Sunglass Hut all improved their sales while reporting an average transaction value (ATV) of over £100, “highlighting a correlation between quality and quantity”.

The study didn’t only focus on market levels but also looked at other current sales drivers. And it said that the data “points to a change in spending motivations, with a greater emphasis on not just price, but sustainability and ease of use”. 

And that ease of use is key across the price scale with CACI highlighting Shein seeing significant growth but being outperformed by Vinted, the secondhand online marketplace. “With the lowest ATV of all retailers measured in Brand Dimensions, at just over £10, there is a suggestion that its growth can be attributed to ease of buying and selling items and spur of the moment purchases, as much as a comparatively low price point,” we’re told.

As mentioned, Brand Dimensions also identified the rebound of in-store shopping, with more than two-thirds of retailers with over 60% of sales in-store seeing an overall increase in performance. Meanwhile, brands operating mostly online have struggled to match their 2021 figures. Some 69% of these online-dominant retailers have seen a sales decline.