Today’s ONS retail figures show online shopping held on to its 26.4 per cent market share in September – roughly where it has sat since May. Online sellers can now plan ahead, but it’s still carnage on the High Street, says ParcelHero.
Online sales peaked at 37 per cent of the entire retail market in February 2021, during the height of Covid lockdowns, but then started to fall back. How far they would fall before reaching a new equilibrium is a question retailers have been asking for months. ParcelHero says today’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) retail figures show online sales have now stabilised.
"For a long time, retailers have wondered what the 'new normal' for retailing is. Now we seem to have our answer," said ParcelHero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T. "For much of this year, online sales have held on to around 25-26 per cent of the overall retail market. While that’s far from the giddy heights of 37 per cent in February 2021, it’s still well above the 19 per cent online was averaging before the pandemic hit in March 2020.
‘Unfortunately, it’s not terrific consolation for specialist online retailers such as ASOS who overexpanded during the pandemic. This month, it revealed its annual profits have fallen by -105 per cent, leading to a significant £10m operating loss. In contrast, last year it made a profit of over £190m. However, at least retailers now know where the bottom is and can plan accordingly.
"High Street retailers, however, are still having a torrid time, which won’t be helped by the tumultuous changes at the top of Government. Consumer confidence is clearly faltering. Retail sales overall fell by -1.4 per cent in September 2022 and are -1.3 per cent below pre-coronavirus February 2020 levels.
"Rising prices and the cost of home energy bills are the chief reasons for the fall, as shoppers drew in their horns to prepare for an expensive winter ahead. Even more concerning for retailers, most of the period covered by these latest ONS figures date from before the former Chancellor’s disastrous mini-budget of 23 September. This will have undermined consumer confidence even more and further increased the price of goods.
"Perhaps the most telling figure is the comparison between September 2022 and September 2021. Even though people spent 3.8 per cent more this September, the quantity of items they bought fell by -6.9 per cent compared to last year. In other words, it cost us significantly more to buy significantly less. That’s the impact of rising inflation.
"One mitigating factor was that the Queen’s funeral took place in September, which lost most High Street retailers a trading day. However, this additional Bank Holiday is unlikely to have changed these results in any fundamental way.
"Returning to online figures, a year-on-year fall of -8.2 per cent in the value of sales shows why online-only retailers such as ASOS are now feeling the pinch. However, September’s results were actually up 1.2 per cent month-on-month, highlighting the fact that we now seem to have reached some kind of stability."
Labour MP Mary Glindon has cautioned that a new excise tax on vaping could discourage smokers from switching to less harmful alternatives.
Glindon, who also chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Responsible Vaping, said the chancellor’s proposed tax, which will add £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid when it goes into effect on October 1, 2026, will “hurt working people”, who rely on vapes to quit smoking.
“A tax on vaping will only serve to discourage smokers from quitting,” the Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend MP said during a Commons debate on the Budget.
“The tax will also hurt working people … who rely on vaping to keep them off cigarettes.”
Glindon termed the 22p per ml tax as “unsustainably high,” highlighting that it will create one of the highest vaping duties in Europe.
“Currently, many stores sell vaping liquid for refillable devices for 99p. Under the chancellor’s proposals, that will increase by 267 per cent to £3.64,” she added.
Glindon dismissed suggestions that low-cost vaping liquids drive youth vaping, pointing instead to the upcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill aimed at curbing youth access.
“I fear that the tax on vapes will hurt people who have made the decision to switch from smoking to the less harmful alternative—a decision that has already saved the NHS tens of thousands of pounds per person,” she noted.
The alcohol license of Liverpool convenience store, which had become the “go to” location for illicit sales, has been revoked after a 13-year-old girl had to be taken to hospital after getting drunk on vodka she had purchased unchallenged from the store.
According to local media reports, members of Liverpool Council’s licensing and gambling sub-committee have taken a dim view of the levels of “wholesale breaches and criminal offences” at Old Swan Express on Prescot Road, stripping owner Sinnathamby Arumugasamy of his licence, despite him only gaining permission to trade at the former angling store in February of this year.
Most recently last month, two teenagers managed to buy vodka from the store unchallenged, which led to one of the girls requiring medical attention after consuming the alcohol.
The incident was reported to Merseyside Police, who were represented by PC Nicola Ireland at the hearing. She told the committee how the force had requested CCTV footage to establish the circumstances of the incident but none was provided owing to an “issue” with the shop’s system.
PC Ireland said as a result, officers were not able to pursue a prosecution into the “very, very serious offence” and it had hindered the investigation.
Claire Jones, from the council’s trading standards team told the committee, said there had been “ongoing issues” with the business and the authority had sought to secure the maximum closure order of three months from the courts as a result. She said on multiple occasions, anonymous tip-offs had been received regarding the sale of counterfeit and loose cigarettes as well as illicit vapes.
In July, a 16-year-old volunteer was able to purchase an illicit vape for £12 without being challenged on their age or for identification during a test visit. On that occasion, the sole individual working said they were “just covering” for the owner and on further inspection, a list of available illicit vapes was found in a bin.
A hidden compartment under the counter was also identified containing illegal products. Jones said shops were keeping small quantities on site more often to avoid large seizures when found.
On a separate visit, officers also uncovered a wine bottle with “bits floating in it,” Jones said. Arumugasamy said he had bought this from a man with a van, apologised and said it wouldn’t happen again.
Despite this plea, trading standards officials were able to buy single cans of super strength cider on different occasions, a breach of the licensing conditions.
Arumugasamy told the committee how he was “really very, very sorry” for what had happened and acknowledged the products he sold were illegal. He claimed he had been pressured by people to sell them the products and had been threatened by youngsters in his shop. PC Ireland rejected this claim, saying the force had not been notified of such incidents.
The committee heard how he had previously been a chef for 17 years and was his first shop, having only been granted his licence in February this year. Delivering the committee’s decision that it would revoke Arumugasamy’s licence, Cllr Christine Banks, committee chair, said, “The committee is in no doubt to revoke this licence due to the wholesale breaches and criminal offences committed.
“The committee has no confidence the licence holder will be able to run this premises in a lawful manner in future.”
October’s footfall figures declined marginally as compared to last year, shows latest industry data, highlighting concerns for a policy environment that supports growth and investment.
According to data by British Retail Consortium (BRC), total UK footfall decreased by 1.1 per cent in October (YoY), down from +3.3 per cent in September. High Street footfall decreased by 3.6 per cent in October (YoY), down from +0.9 per cent in September.
Retail Park footfall increased by 4.8 per cent in October (YoY), down from +7.3 per cent in September. Shopping Centre footfall decreased by 1.6 per cent in October (YoY), down from +2.3 per cent in September.
Meanwhile, footfall increased year-on-year in three of the devolved nations, with Northern Ireland rising by 1.3 per cent, Scotland by 0.8 per cent, and Wales by 0.4 per cent, while England experienced a decline of 1.5 per cent.
Commenting on the figures, Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said, "October’s footfall figures showed a marginal decline compared to last year, primarily due to half-term moving out of the comparison. Despite the decline, retail parks continued to attract shoppers, as they saw positive footfall growth for the third consecutive month. Across England, the northern towns performed best, with Leeds and Liverpool seeing positive footfall last month.
"Retailers have seen footfall consistently fall since the pandemic. Thriving high streets and town centres are not only good for local economies but also form a key part of the social fabric of communities up and down the country. With 6,000 stores closing in the past five years, retailers now need a policy environment that supports growth and investment.”
Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic, commented, "After the positive footfall performance we saw in September, October’s footfall dropped back into negative figures compared to the year before. While this will be disappointing for many retailers, who may have hoped the positive figures in September would spell the start of a more consistent uptick in store traffic, it perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise.
"We expect to see a bumpy recovery as a myriad of market conditions - from the cost of living to shaky consumer confidence around the Budget – continue to make footfall performance volatile. Retailers now need to look ahead and focus their efforts on the rest of the Golden Quarter, delivering compelling reasons to visit in order to drive ambient footfall and sales during the key Christmas trading period.”
Children at Ashton Primary School in Preston got into the spirit of Halloween with some spooktacular support from SPAR.
Thirty children in Reception class took part in a cookery session to concoct a healthy pumpkin and carrot soup with ingredients supplied by James Hall & Co. Ltd. SPAR recipe cards were also provided to children to take home alongside additional pumpkins, carrots, and onions, enabling them to recreate their bubbling broth together with their parents.
The cookery sessions were set up to promote healthier eating options and came to fruition with support from Preston City Council and the University of Central Lancashire’s Dietetics department. As part of the Halloween event, children in Reception were also joined by pupils from Years 1 and 2 to allow their imaginations to run wild by decorating a pumpkin in a carving competition.
Reception winner was Almirah with her clever upside-down bat design, while Wiktor won the Year 1 competition with his ‘Happy Halloween’ pumpkin.
Ella-Rose was named the winner of Year 2 competition with her larger ghost pumpkin eating a smaller orange pumpkin, with the design also illuminating through the inclusion of tea lights.
Bryony Readey, Reception teacher and Assistant Headteacher at Ashton Primary School, said: “We are so grateful to SPAR for supplying us with ingredients to promote our healthy eating agenda within school and the children had so much fun in the cookery session.
“We know that they also enjoyed some valuable parent and child time in creating their pumpkins for the competition, and we hope they will replicate that with the recipe cards and ingredients they are taking home.”
Aishah Ibrahim, Junior Fresh Trading Manager at James Hall & Co. Ltd, said: “This has been a fantastic piece of partnership work supporting Ashton Primary School. We were delighted to hear the children loved the cookery sessions and we were very impressed with the creativity that had gone into the pumpkin carving competition.
“It isn’t often in my role we get to support the community like our retail teams at SPAR stores do every day, but this project has enabled that, and we look forward to working with Ashton Primary School on other initiatives this academic year.”
James Hall & Co. Ltd is a fifth-generation family business which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week from its base at Bowland View in Preston.
Kepak Group has announced the acquisition of Summit Foods, a UK-based company specialising in chilled and frozen convenience foods. With annual revenues of £24 million and a team of 200 employees, Summit Foods is an established player in the UK’s convenience food sector. The acquisition, is part of Kepak’s strategic plan to further grow its food business organically and via acquisition.
“We are pleased to welcome Summit Foods to the Kepak Group," said Brian Farrell, CEO of Kepak Foods. "This acquisition aligns with our growth strategy, developing our presence in the UK convenience and out-of-home food channels. Summit's portfolio of fresher for longer sandwiches, chilled and frozen meals & snacks complements our existing micro snacking offerings and allows us to deepen our presence across these markets”.
Summit Foods will continue to operate from its current base in Preston, with no immediate changes to its operations, branding, or customer offerings. The leadership team from Summit will remain in place for a six-month transition period to facilitate a smooth transition.
Kepak plans to leverage its existing distribution network and market expertise to support future growth for Summit Foods. This acquisition strengthens Kepak’s position in the UK’s growing Food To Go and micro-snacking market, valued at £6.8 billion.
Kepak remains focused on delivering business as usual for Summit’s customers and employees, the acquisition provides opportunities for long-term growth. For the immediate future, the two companies will work closely to align operations and explore potential synergies, particularly in the areas of product development and distribution.