Sunshine encourages UK shoppers
3 per cent like-for-like jump in June
July 14 2003
June saw a strong leap in UK retail sales, up 3 per cent on a like-for-like basis, and 5.7 per cent in total basis.
The British Retail Consortium-KPMG Sales Monitor also saw the three-monthly like-for-like sales trend increase from 1.7 per cent in May to 3.1 per cent in June, and total sales up from 4.5 per cent in May to 5.8 per cent.
The good weather helped food and drink, clothing and footwear sales, although a slower housing market hit sales of home products. London stores continue to see sales hit by the decline in both international and domestic tourist visitors.
The sales monitor breakdown by retail sector was:
[b]Food and Drink[/b]: The warm weather helped to boost sales of seasonal goods, such as ice cream, fresh produce and barbeque related products. Wines and spirits sold well, particularly Pimms. Beers and lagers also performed well, aided by promotional activity. Again hot weather helped soft drink sales. However, frozen food was not as popular.
[b]Clothing[/b]: Clothing sales improved considerably. Within womenswear, casual bottoms and trousers, jersey tops and skirts sold well. Lingerie saw uplift in sales this month. Women’s formalwear is starting to see an improvement in sales. The good weather helped the sale of accessories such as sunglasses. Swimwear has also benefited from the weather. Men’s casualwear generally performed better than formalwear, while young fashion for men continues to sell well.
[b]Footwear[/b]: Footwear continues to show strong growth. The weather boosted sales of men’s seasonal footwear. It was a similar story for women’s and children’s footwear, with sandals selling extremely well. Women’s formal and smart shoes also proved popular, but casual footwear did not perform as well.
[b]Electrical and Electronic[/b]: Strong comparatives in 2002 led to slower sales during the June this year. Despite this, sales of televisions have been helped by the increasing trend in LCD and plasma screens. Audio products continue to suffer from poor sales. This is also the case for game consoles, which have had no hardware releases this year compared to several in 2002. DVD players continue to show strong growth, whereas sales of VCRs decline. Digital imaging equipment, such as digital cameras and camcorders, performed well. White goods continue to show some growth.
[b]Department Stores[/b]: Sales have been disappointing, with a bigger uplift expected as last year’s sales weakened whilst people watched the World Cup and enjoyed the Golden Jubilee. In-store restaurants saw a decline in footfall. However, perfumery continued to experience strong sales.
[b]DIY/Gardening[/b]: DIY had a mixed month with outdoor products performing better than indoor items. Sales were driven by the warm weather, which helped seasonal items such as gardening products.
[b]Homewares[/b]: Sales of home accessories and textiles suffered from a slower housing market. Tabletop products, such as china, are also experiencing poor sales.
[b]Furniture and carpets[/b]: Furniture and floor coverings have experienced a slowdown in sales, the result of a stronger housing market last year. However, beds and cabinets have sold well.
[b]Chemist and Beauty[/b]: Overall June was a good month for this sector. Sun care products benefited from the warmer weather this year compared to a wet June in 2002. Other seasonal products also benefited, such as foot care ranges, deodorants, hayfever products and analgesics. Skincare ranges experienced good sales. Premium ranges of cosmetics and fragrances also performed well. However fragrances at the lower end of the market did not sell as well. Weight management products also saw poor sales.
[b]Leisure Goods [/b]: Music sales were flat this month. The trend of declining single sales continues. Albums sales show some growth, with albums from Stereophonics and Beyonce Knowles selling well. Video sales continue to experience a decline, while sales of DVDs showed growth during the month. Book sales were dominated by the launch of [i]Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix [/i],while Father’s Day gifts also sold well. Toys performed well over the month, especially outdoor items. However, stationery did not have such a good month.
[b]Mail Order[/b]: June was a difficult month for home shopping, particularly for ‘back of the book’ products such as furniture and electricals. There was some improvement in clothing sales, while footwear was the best performing area.
[b]London Stores[/b]: Year-on-year comparisons show that the number of tourists is down, both international and domestic. The decline in the sales of signature products also indicates this. The difference in the mix of tourists is still evident, with more Europeans visiting London.
Bill Moyes, director general of the BRC, said: “The better than expected increase in retail sales is obviously good news, but no one should be too excited about one month’s figures in isolation. Consumer confidence is still fragile and is only starting to improve. The warm weather boost has its limitations and consumers remain nervous about their long-term financial outlook.”
Amanda Aldridge, head of retail at KPMG said: “The good weather in June has boosted the consumer market with sales of clothing and footwear the star performers. Accessories such as sun hats and sunglasses have also been selling well.
“Food retailers have been watching ice cream, barbecue products and other fresh items fly out of the store, together with wine, beer and Pimms. This month performance should be considered against a relatively weak June last year but there is no doubt that some retailers are discounting heavily to drive continued growth.”
