UK fashion recovers online, In-Store sales dip

The UK retail sector has returned to positive growth, with total like-for-like (LFL) sales increasing by +1.32% this week, building on a strong base of +8.44% from the same period last year. According to the BDO High Street Sales Tracker, this recovery was fueled by positive outcomes across both in-store and non-store channels.

The fashion sector played a pivotal role in this overall rebound, with its total LFL sales growing by +2.49%. This represents a welcome return to growth for apparel after two consecutive weeks in negative territory. However, the performance within fashion reveals a clear divergence between its sales channels.

Non-store fashion sales showcased a significant recovery, climbing by +9.55%. This robust growth in online apparel purchases was the sole driver of non-store sales growth across all retail segments this week, as lifestyle and homewares sales slipped online. This strong rebound for online fashion sales, following two negative weeks, suggests that consumers are continuing to engage with digital platforms for their clothing needs, potentially adapting to the cooler, overcast weather conditions.

Conversely, store fashion sales experienced a dip, decreasing by -0.90%. This marks the category's first negative result after an impressive ten straight weeks of positive performance. While total store LFL sales for all segments edged up by +0.82%, led by lifestyle and homewares, the decline in physical fashion sales is notable. This occurred despite an overall +1.8% increase in footfall, driven by healthy traffic on high streets (+3.4%) and shopping centres (+0.4%). The data suggests that while people are returning to physical shopping areas, their spending in fashion stores may be shifting, possibly due to a greater preference for online browsing for apparel or other factors influencing in-store conversion. Retail parks, however, saw a slight decrease in footfall by -0.3%.