Online fashion drives weekly growth as stores slip

UK fashion edged higher last week, but the channels behind the growth reversed sharply: online surged while stores fell, overturning the store-led pattern that had defined the summer. Fashion total like-for-like (LFL) sales rose +0.82%, according to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker, against a demanding +8.14% base a year earlier.

Online did the heavy lifting. Non-store fashion jumped +10.24% against a strong +12.04% base — powerful growth on a tough comparison, and the first time since early summer that online has led the category. Fashion's online performance also far outpaced the wider online market, where total non-store sales rose just +1.05%.

Store fashion, by contrast, fell -2.91%, against a demanding +8.63% base. The in-store channel that had anchored fashion throughout the summer took a step back, its decline set against an exceptionally strong week a year earlier and thinner store traffic this time round.

Across the wider high street, total LFL sales rose +0.59% from a +6.31% base, helped by both channels. Total store sales grew +1.22%, extending their unbroken run, while total non-store sales rose +1.05%. Fashion's store weakness stood out against otherwise steady store trading elsewhere.

Springboard footfall increased just +0.3% overall, led by retail parks at +0.8% and the high street at +0.2%, with shopping centres flat — soft visitor numbers that align with the dip in store sales.

The week brought an autumnal shift, with low-pressure systems bringing rain, wind and cooler air, heaviest in the north and west. After a summer carried by stores, fashion's growth has swung back to online as the season turns.