High Street holds steady over Christmas despite atrocious weather
The BDO High Street Sales Tracker shows that despite the blanket of snow sales hold firm
Despite many consumers being forced to stay at home by the icy conditions, year-on-year sales growth held firm, dropping by just 0.5% in December (five weeks to 2 January 2011).
Fashion sales growth in the same period dipped by just 1%, with retailers stocking stout boots and warm coats in particular benefiting from the cold snap. Homeware sales dropped slightly further, registering a 1.8% drop for the entire month, but this was a strong recovery from a staggering -13.9% dip in the first week of December.
Non-fashion sales actually grew by 0.9% year-on-year thanks to a last minute rush and early promotions.
Total sales for the month were buoyed by frenetic trade during the traditional New Year rush. Takings in the week after Christmas rose 8.3% on the same week in December 2009 as shoppers rushed to beat the 4 January VAT rise.
Even dire warnings of a mountain of orders piling up in snowbound warehouses didn’t deter consumers from shopping online. Non-store sales were up 45% in December year-on-year.
BDO national head of retail and wholesale Don Williams says, “Snow is a convenient distraction for retailers with deeper underlying problems. While these figures are disappointing, put in context of the poor weather, a dip of less than 1% is not nearly as bad as it could have been. Retailers like John Lewis reported healthy sales growth despite the weather. Despite being snowed in for two weeks, UK consumers showed they will still buy from retailers offering good products and a good service.”
The BDO High Street Sales Tracker analyses like-for-like spending at non-grocery retailers with annual sales of between £5m and £500m
