BDO: UK fashion declines but holds up better than wider high street

UK fashion held up better than the wider high street last week, with like-for-like (LFL) sales down -4.13% — a far shallower decline than the broader retail market managed in a difficult week, according to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker. The category proved the most resilient of the three BDO tracks.

Online fashion was the more defensive channel, with non-store LFLs slipping just -2.97%. That came against an exceptionally demanding base: the same week last year surged +21.43%, making it one of the toughest comparisons in the recent run and softening the read on this week's dip.

Store fashion fell -4.63%, against a positive +4.90% base a year earlier. The in-store channel bore the heavier share of the category's decline, in line with the wider physical-retail weakness BDO recorded across the high street this week.

The wider picture was markedly worse. Total LFL sales fell -7.81%, the second weakest week of the year, from a positive +3.85% base. Total store sales dropped -7.62%, the biggest fall since the start of the year, while total non-store sales eased -4.15% against a strong +10.97% comparison.

Springboard footfall fell -3.7% overall, dragged down by the high street at -6.6% and shopping centres at -2.3%. Retail parks bucked the trend, with footfall up +1.1% — the one bright spot in an otherwise subdued week for physical visits.

The UK saw mixed, changeable weather, warm early before midweek showers and a drier weekend. With every fashion figure measured against a positive prior-year base, the week's softness reads more as a demanding comparison than a structural retreat.