UK Fashion thrives, driving overall retail growth

The UK retail sector has demonstrated remarkable resilience this week, with total like-for-like (LFL) sales jumping by a significant +6.89%. This impressive growth effectively offsets a sharply negative base of -18.32% from the same period last year, indicating a strong recovery despite challenging weather conditions. Both in-store and non-store channels contributed positively, with online retail, particularly fashion, showing healthy results across all segments.

The fashion sector was a significant driver of this overall upturn, with its total LFL sales climbing by +6.42%. This marks the seventh consecutive positive outcome for apparel and the thirty-fourth so far in 2025, solidifying its consistent performance. This robust growth occurred amidst an Arctic air mass, which brought temperatures as low as -12°C in northern areas, along with snow, frost, ice, and sleet.

Despite these wintry conditions, store fashion sales rose by +6.55%, achieving their second positive result in the past five weeks. This resilience in physical apparel sales is particularly noteworthy given the harsh weather, which typically deters shoppers. The increase in store sales was supported by an overall +4.2% rise in footfall across all retail destinations. High streets saw a +5.1% increase, shopping centres a +3.5% rise, and retail parks a +3.1% uptick, suggesting that consumers were motivated to brave the cold for their shopping needs, potentially for winter fashion items.

Non-store fashion sales also delivered strong results, going up by +6.43%. This marks the seventh consecutive positive outcome for online apparel, further underscoring the enduring importance of e-commerce, especially when adverse weather makes physical shopping less appealing. The ability of the fashion sector to thrive across both channels in such challenging conditions highlights its adaptability and the strong underlying demand for new collections.