New report: sporting goods top of the league at UK shopping centres
Real estate advisor Savills has revealed that sales of sporting goods grew faster than any other product category in 2015 across the UK shopping centres it manages.
The category achieved an increase of 9.5% year-on-year. Menswear and jewellery also performed well with sales growth of 3.9% and 3.4% respectively.
In addition, the company found a rise in consumers eating out at shopping centres, with fast food and restaurant sales increasing by 5.8% and 3.8% respectively. Cafes also performed well with sales growth of 1.5% across the period.
Product categories which showed the greatest decline in sales were electrical, down by 9.8%, and music, books and games, down by 9.7%. Homeware sales fell by 5.9% in the second half of the year, although this was a minor improvement on the 7.2% decline seen in the first half 2015.
Stephen Toal, head of property management research at Savills, said: “Sporting goods retailers enjoyed a stellar year thanks to the rising trend for ‘athleisure’, various celebrity endorsements and a number of significant football kit launches. Looking ahead, retailers will need to keep a close eye on costs when the National Living Wage is introduced in April this year, but those investing in omni-channel and putting the transactional experience first will continue to reap the benefits of increased consumer confidence.”
