BDO Weekly: Store fashion leads again as half-term footfall recovers

UK fashion held broadly flat over the half-term week, as its store channel moved back ahead of online for the first time in a month — a reversal set against one of the most demanding prior-year comparisons of the autumn. Fashion total like-for-like (LFL) sales slipped just -0.36%, according to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker, against a strong +8.27% base a year earlier.

Store fashion returned to growth and to the front, up +0.75% while online fell. The in-store channel was helped by a clear recovery in footfall after the previous week's storms, with shoppers returning to the high street over the school holidays.

Online gave back its recent momentum. Non-store fashion fell -1.53%, ending a four-week run as the category's driver, though it lapped an exceptional +9.68% base from the same week last year — meaning the dip reads as a tough comparison rather than a genuine loss of demand.

Across the wider high street, total LFL sales edged up +0.92% from a +5.25% base, this week driven by stores rather than online. Total store sales rose +3.07%, while total non-store sales fell -2.23% — a near-mirror of the pattern that had defined October.

Springboard footfall picked up +1.5% overall, led by the high street at +2.5%, with retail parks up +0.5% and shopping centres +0.4%. The return of high street visitors after the storms aligned with the week's store-led trading.

The UK moved from the previous week's storms to calmer, drier conditions near seasonal averages. With both channels soft but measured against demanding comparisons, fashion's flat half-term week looks comparison-driven as the sector enters the Christmas run-in.