New survey confirms positive outlook for retail display sector
New figures released by the Shop and Display Equipment Association have revealed a positive outlook for the retail display industry.
The association’s half-yearly survey found that 57% of respondents experienced an increase in sales during the second half of 2013 compared with the first half of the year.
Compared to the second half of 2012, 43% of respondents reported increased sales year-on-year and a further 33% indicated no change. The average increase reported was 18.6%.
Looking ahead, over 50% of those polled said they expected sales to increase during the next six months and the figure rose to 76% for the longer 12 month forecast.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Other indicators, such as employment, also suggested high levels of confidence. The results show that 19% of respondents had taken on additional employees during the last six months and 52% said they expected to take on more staff over the next six months.
SDEA director Lawrence Cutler said: “There has been a real turn around with genuine growth of 26% compared with our last six monthly survey and 18% growth year-on-year. Overall, these figures reveal a degree of business confidence not witnessed in the UK shopfittings and display industry for several years”.
