Retail sales growth remained flat in August as the high street continued to underperform, shows a new report.
According to the latest High Street Sales Tracker from BDO, total retail sales increased by only 0.7 per cent compared to the same month last year. It reveals another disappointing month for the high street, with in-store sales falling by 0.7 per cent.
Despite reports showing that prices in shops fell for the first time in three years during August, BDO noted that sales growth figures are still running below the rate of inflation. This means that although consumer spending seems to have marginally increased, this has not actually led to a rise in the volume of sales.
Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO, commented, “This month’s data represents minimal sales growth and another disappointing month for high street retailers. August is often a quiet month for the sector, but these numbers show that changes to consumer behaviour may continue to disproportionately impact bricks & mortar stores.
“We’ve seen reports of heavy discounting from retailers in order to shift summer stock, but this alone does not seem to have done the trick. With increases to energy bills expected in October and a huge number of homeowners likely to be re-mortgaging to higher rates in the latter half of this year, there is still huge competition for the consumer purse in discretionary spend categories. Other reports show spending on non-essential items seems to be lagging behind expenditure on experiences and leisure activities.”
Looking across the different categories of the tracker, the homewares sector recorded a disappointing performance, with sales declining 0.5 per cent. The fashion sector told a similar story, with overall sales declining by 0.4 per cent compared to the same month last year. The lifestyle sector provided the only set of positive results, with sales up 3.2 per cent.
Michael concluded, “September will be a critical month and provide some indication of what retailers may expect from consumer spend ahead of the so-called crucial ‘Golden Quarter’ in the run-up to Christmas.
“Profit margins remain incredibly narrow, especially with increased operating costs. Those who are agile enough to adapt to changing consumer demand and behaviours will likely be the best performers and play a pivotal role in stopping the British high street merely becoming a ‘window shop’ for customers.”
