• Home
  • V1
  • Design
  • Cool July boosts footwear and clothing sales

Cool July boosts footwear and clothing sales

By FashionUnited

loading...

Scroll down to read more

Non-food sales outperformed food sales on a like-for-like

basis for the first time in two years last month according to the British Retail Consortium-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor, driven by strong growth in clothing and footwear.

UK retail sales were up 0.1 percent on a like-for-like basis from July 2011, when they were up 0.6 percent on a year ago, while total sales were up 2 percent, against a 2.5 percent rise in July 2011.

The unseasonal cool weather coinciding with the arrival of new autumn collections meant that clothing and footwear were the “brightest spot” for retailers in July. Footwear was the strongest performing category, with men’s, women’s and kids shoes all showing strong growth. The BRC added that the wet weather at the beginning of the month meant that women’s boots sold well, and towards the end of the month warmer weather helped sell sandals and summer footwear.

Clothing also saw growth helped by the warm weather at the end of the month with the sale of summer clothes; however the sales monitor noted that much of this growth was driven by extended clearance periods at the expense of margins. Womenswear was the worst performing category within clothing, while menswear showed modest signs of growth. However, kidswear continued to show robust growth, helped by the back to school season.

The miserable weather meant that online, mail order and phone sales of non-food items leapt 15.6 percent compared to growth of 9.6 percent last year. The BRC also added that services such as ‘Click and Collect’ were growing in popularity as shoppers became more confident in using it.

Stephen Robertson, Director General, British Retail Consortium, said: "July was clearly not a golden month for retail. Like-for-like sales were virtually flat compared with a year ago and total growth of two per cent was still behind inflation as consumers, dealing with squeezed budgets, prioritised their spending on essentials.

"The brightest spot was clothing and footwear thanks to cooler weather coinciding with autumn ranges reaching the shops. Consumers responded enthusiastically to the chance to refresh their wardrobes with items they could make use of straightaway. Some retailers also benefitted from the longer Sunday opening hours brought in for the Olympic period.

"With only the opening couple of days of the Olympic Games covered by these statistics we'll have to wait a while to assess the overall impact on retail sales. Let's hope Team GB keeps on increasing its medal tally, bringing a feel good factor that helps consumer confidence."
British Retail Consortium