'UK fashion sees biggest sales decline in 7 years'

UK fashion sales saw its sharpest decline since 2009 as consumers increasingly spend their money elsewhere, according to research group Kantar Wordpanel.

The report stated nearly 700 million pounds in fashion sales have been lost from the value of the market in 12 months, due mostly to over-buying and deep discounting. June’s decline of 0.1 percent was the first monthly contraction in six years.

“Fashion retailers are still following the same patterns of over-buying and deep discounting and consumers are increasingly reluctant to pay full price,” said Glen Tooke, consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel. Most recently the decline has been driven by falling frequencies of buying, giving retailers fewer opportunities to encourage shoppers to part with their cash."

According to Retail Week, Kantar said the figures did not take into account the closure of BHS, which shuttered its final stores at the end of August, but said the slump in value was “equal to one of our fashion retailers disappearing from our high streets”.

BHS was a key contributor to UK's fashion sales

BHS accounted for 400 million pounds in fashion sales – encompassing clothing, footwear and accessories – every year, Kantar said.

“Retailers have responded to falling sales by investing less in their lines, when what they need to be doing instead is addressing these problems more proactively. Rather than chasing after the same ‘micro trends’ as every one of their competitors, they need to work on understanding what their customers really want and to fulfil their needs.”

Tooke added: “As such, they need to ensure that stock availability is as high as it can be – online and offline – and that the shopping experience is based on what the customer actually wants, not what the retailer thinks they should experience.”

The Financial Times commented: "UK retailers have been struggling against a number of challenges this year, including Britons shifting more of their spending towards holidays and recreational activities and parting with less on clothes; fragile consumer sentiment before and after the Brexit vote; ever-increasing competition from online retailers and constant pressure to keep prices low."

Photo credit: Oxford Circus, source: New West End company