Neither the Olympic Games in Paris nor the high temperatures were able to increase customer frequency in stores. The French trade association "Alliance du Commerce" reported a decline in sales for the past summer.

The summer of 2024 seemed to bring together several factors that would give the clothing sector more dynamism. Between the Olympic Games - and the associated arrival of millions of tourists - and the warm temperatures, clothing stores had every reason to be optimistic. But when looking at the balance sheet, the results fall well short of expectations.

According to the report by Panel Retail Int. for the Alliance du Commerce, clothing stores recorded a year-on-year decline in sales of 0.5 percent in July and 0.3 percent in August.

Yohann Petiot, Director General of the Alliance du Commerce, comments on these figures: "After a positive sales period, fashion houses experienced a rather sluggish business activity over the summer. The payment of the school supplies allowance, which gives families back purchasing power, boosted sales at the end of August, especially in the children's segment. Nevertheless, the industry has not managed to return to 2023 levels since the beginning of the year."

A glimmer of hope in July

Business activity was dynamic and encouraging in the first three weeks of July, but month-end results were weaker than in 2023. Last year, summer sales were extended by a fifth week until August 1, 2023, while this year they ended on July 22.

August benefited from a particularly dynamic third week of sales, especially in entry-level and mid-range retail stores. This was due to the payment of the school supplies allowance on August 20.

Shopping centers are doing well

In July, shops in commercial areas or retail parks recorded a sales increase of 1.9 percent compared to 2023. Shopping centers in the city center performed better with an increase of 1.3 percent than those in outlying districts (-0.2 percent). Retail in city centers continues to decline, recording a sales decline of 2.5 percent.

In August, shops in the shopping centres in the outskirts recorded a good development with an increase in activity of 3 percent, followed by those in the inner cities with an increase of 1.1 percent. Conversely, shops in the inner cities recorded a decrease of 1.3 percent. The business activity of shops in commercial areas or retail parks suffered a decrease of 1.6 percent.

In-store footfall fell by 4.7 percent in July compared to 2023, but this was offset by an improvement in the conversion rate. In August, the number of visitors recovered with growth of 1.4 percent.

Online retail recorded a sharp decline in sales during this period, with a decline of 5 percent in July and 13.3 percent in August compared to summer 2023.

Since the beginning of 2024, sales in stationary retail have fallen by 2.5 percent compared to 2023.

The Alliance du Commerce is an organisation that brings together the Union du grand commerce de centre-ville, the Federation of Clothing Shops (Fédération des enseignes de l'habillement) and the Federation of Shoe Shops (Fédération des enseignes de la chaussure). It represents 26,000 shops and 160,000 employees in the clothing and footwear sector.

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.FR, translated and edited to English.

It was translated using an AI tool called Gemini 1.5. .