Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Business

Wet weather and shaky consumer confidence give retailers longest dip in sales since pandemic

by April 5, 2024
April 5, 2024
Wet weather and shaky consumer confidence give retailers longest dip in sales since pandemic

Retailers in the UK are facing the longest dip in sales since the Covid-19 pandemic, with high street sales and footfall dampened by wet weather and shaky consumer confidence, according to a recent survey by BDO, a consultancy.

The survey revealed that total in-store and online sales fell by 2.2 per cent in March, marking the sixth consecutive month of decline for retail sales. This decline, occurring over the early Easter weekend, suggests that unfavorable weather conditions may have deterred consumers from visiting brick-and-mortar stores.

Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO, commented on the results, stating that they “continue to paint a bleak picture for retailers,” despite the occurrence of events like the Easter bank holiday weekend and Mother’s Day in March. The pressure on the sector is evident, with several high-profile insolvencies on the high street, including The Body Shop and Ted Baker.

The homeware sector saw a particularly steep decline in March, falling by 10.9 per cent, the worst monthly result since May 2022. Although fashion was the only category to see positive non-store results, with a 1.5 per cent growth, it failed to offset the decline in in-store sales, which dropped by 6 per cent.

Weak demand for household goods contributed to the overall decline in retail sales, while fashion and lifestyle products were among the few categories to see improvement in sales volumes.

Household finances are still recovering from the significant cost of living crisis, with inflation at a four-decade high and interest rates at their highest in 16 years. Consumer confidence, as measured by GfK, has remained subdued in recent months.

Retail footfall also experienced a decline, dropping by 1.3 per cent on an annual basis in March, according to research by the British Retail Consortium and Sensormatic IQ. However, this was an improvement from the 6.2 per cent drop in February. Footfall declined primarily in England, while Wales and Northern Ireland saw slight increases.

Andy Sumpter, of Sensormatic Solutions, said: “The choppy nature of footfall recovery we’ve seen over the past few months indicates that consumer confidence is yet to fully turn a corner, meaning we may see a bumpy recovery in shopper traffic in the months ahead.”

Despite these challenges in the retail sector, other economic indicators suggest that the UK economy is strengthening, with GDP returning to growth at the beginning of the year and private sector activity increasing for five consecutive months, as indicated by the latest purchasing managers’ index.

Read more:
Wet weather and shaky consumer confidence give retailers longest dip in sales since pandemic

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Housing market springs into life over Easter
next post
Google Mulls Charging for Premium AI-Powered Search Results

You may also like

Midlands hit hardest in economic ‘perfect storm’

June 19, 2023

UK households face tax rise of £3,500 a...

September 29, 2023

AI’s Use in Modern Websites to Aid Content...

March 7, 2023

Bank of England’s top economist offers two routes...

September 1, 2023

Restore tourist tax break to boost UK retail,...

July 8, 2024

Is Your Business Financially Healthy? 5 Key Indicators...

July 23, 2024

Welsh brand Goodwash sees surge in sales following appearance in Gavin and Stacey Christmas finale

January 9, 2025

UK Recruiters warn Bank of England of permanent...

December 8, 2023

Labour Unveils £5bn Plan to Combat Tax Avoidance...

April 9, 2024

Asda to go cashless at more supermarket forecourts

January 26, 2024

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • HMRC inheritance tax investigations surge 37% as treasury seeks to plug revenue gap

      June 9, 2025
    • Believ secures £300m to roll out 30,000 public EV charge points across the UK

      June 9, 2025
    • US and China hold London talks to ease trade war tensions

      June 9, 2025
    • British fathers urged to join landmark ‘dad strike’ over poor paternity leave

      June 9, 2025
    • IVF parents should have right to paid fertility leave, says GMB union

      June 9, 2025
    • Reform UK clashes with Bank of England over interest payments to lenders

      June 9, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,158)
    • Investing (2,019)
    • Politics (15,571)
    • Stocks (3,136)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved