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UK retail sales hit record low in 2020

UK retail sales hit a record 25-year low in 2020 during a year plagued by prolonged store closures. For the whole year, total sales fell 0.3 percent compared with 2019, a record low since records began in 1995, according to the latest BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor. That drop was driven by non-food items, as categories such as fashion were hit...

13 Jan 2021

Retail

UK footfall plummeted 43 percent in 2020

Total year-on-year footfall in the UK plummeted by 43.4 percent in 2020 due to lockdowns enforced to slow the spread of Covid-19. In the important “Golden quarter”, from October and December, footfall fell by almost half (48.4 percent) compared to the same period in 2019, according to the BRC-Shoppertrak footfall monitor. In December, footfall...

8 Jan 2021

Retail

Non-essential stores close in England and Scotland amid new lockdowns

All non-essential retailers in England and Scotland have closed once again amid new, stricter lockdown measures across both countries. Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced Monday that, as of midnight, all non-essential stores would close, people should remain at home and schools would close until February. A few hours later, prime...

5 Jan 2021

Retail

UK fashion sales dive in November

The UK saw a sharp fall in the sales volume of clothing in November compared to the month before, as lockdowns across the four nations hindered retailers' hopes for a pre-Christmas sales rebound. Clothing retailers were the worst-hit category, with a monthly fall of 19 percent, according to the latest figures from the Office for National...

18 Dec 2020

Retail

Brexit back-and-forth making it 'harder for businesses to prepare', BRC warns

Ongoing uncertainty over a trade deal between the UK and Europe is making it “harder for businesses to prepare effectively” for 1 January, warns the CEO of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), Helen Dickinson. “The 11th hour has passed and every passing moment of uncertainty makes it harder for businesses to prepare effectively for the 1st...

15 Dec 2020

Retail

Don’t leave Christmas shopping to the last minute, BRC urges

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has urged UK consumers not to leave Christmas shopping - whether online or in-store - to the last minute this year to avoid retailers from being overwhelmed. It comes after non-essential retailers were permitted to reopen on Wednesday following a one-month national lockdown. The government also this week gave...

2 Dec 2020

Retail

Retail bosses warn some store in lockdown may never reopen

Some stores closed during lockdown may never reopen. Now in the midst of the holiday season, the peak sales period for many brands and fashion businesses, there is anguish amongst retail chief executives who fear of longterm damage to the UK’s high street if the second lockdown is extended. In an open letter to The Times newspaper sent from the...

16 Nov 2020

Retail

BRC warns new lockdown will ‘throw away’ retail recovery

UK retail saw strong sales growth last month as it continued to recover from Spring store closures, but a new lockdown in England “will throw away this progress”, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) warned Tuesday. On a total basis, sales increased by 4.9 percent in October, against a decline of 0.3 percent in October 2019, according to the...

10 Nov 2020

Retail

UK retail aims to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2040

The UK retail industry has set out a target to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2040, with stores and warehouses powered by net zero electricity by 2030. The country’s trade body, the British Retail Consortium (BRC), announced the new target on Tuesday as part of its Climate Action Roadmap which was first announced in July and outlines steps to...

10 Nov 2020

Retail

UK shop vacancies continue to rise amid Covid-19 uncertainty

The UK’s shop vacancy rate rose to 13.2 percent in Q3 from 12.4 percent in Q2 amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of increasing rates. That increase was experienced across all locations, with shopping centres hit hardest, increasing to 16.3 percent from 14.3 percent in the previous quarter, according to the...

30 Oct 2020

Retail

UK retail sales continue to improve in September

UK retail sales increased by 1.5 percent in September compared to August, marking the fifth consecutive month of growth. Sales are now 5.5 percent higher than they were at February's pre-pandemic levels, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In the three months to September, retail sales volumes increased by 17.4 percent...

23 Oct 2020

Retail

UK retailers paid 1.1 billion pounds last year to accept customer payments

Retailers in the UK spent 1.1 billion pounds to accept payments from customers in 2019, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which is calling on the government to take action. According to the trade body’s latest Payment Survey, card use rose steadily from 54 percent of transactions in 2016 to 61 percent in 2019. This has been...

20 Oct 2020