UK store fashion posts strongest week in 21 as heat drives demand

UK store fashion sales recorded their strongest week in 21 weeks, growing +12.33% in a seven-day period covering the spring bank holiday and half-term break, according to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker. The result, which compares to a -3.17% base in the same week last year, was driven by two record-breaking late-spring heatwaves that pushed temperatures to 34.8 and 35.1 degrees Celsius at the start of the week.

Total fashion like-for-like (LFL) sales rose +8.97% across both channels, outpacing the +6.09% gain for total retail. The comparable base last year was negative at -1.44%, although the magnitude of the swing reflects genuine demand rather than purely favourable comparisons.

Online channels added to the gains rather than carrying the category. Non-store fashion sales grew +9.66% against a positive base of +7.53% last year — one of the more demanding year-on-year comparisons in the recent run, making the result a meaningful indicator of underlying online strength. The pattern marks a shift from recent weeks, when online growth had offset physical store weakness. The wider retail picture was uniformly positive. Total store LFLs rose +6.78% from a +1.81% base, while total non-store LFLs grew +8.89% from a +2.82% base. All comparisons this week were against positive year-ago numbers, strengthening the read on real demand.

Springboard footfall data backed up the in-store story. Overall footfall rose +0.9%, with high street footfall up +1.8% and retail parks up +1.6%, although shopping centres bucked the trend with a -1.9% decline. The high street increase is notable given the channel had been in persistent decline through much of spring 2026.