Heatwave aids UK retail sales
Published: 20 July, 2009
UK retail sales saw a resurgence in June after more seasonal weather persuaded shoppers to hit the shops and part with their hard earned cash, figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) have shown. As a result of the sunnier climes, UK retail sales rose 1.4 per cent on May’s figures and were up 3.2 per cent on the figures for June 2008, when sales were hit by bad weather.
Despite challenging economic climes, food sales fared the best, witnessing a 5.4 per cent increase since May and almost 7 per cent when compared with June last year. The warm weather conditions definitely aided this increase in food sales as the choice of items suggests – salads, cold meats, quiches, summer berries and ice-cream were among the top sellers. In addition, sales of beers, wines, soft drinks and juices performed strongly.
The heatwave encouraged strong sales in other departments too – clothing, footwear and outdoor leisure sales were also bolstered in June. The hot sunny weather benefited many clothing retailers as sales picked up strongly against last June’s wet weather declines. Clearance sales were earlier for some and particularly where this coincided with the heatwave, gave a strong uplift. Childrenswear showed the strongest gains and among adult attire, womenswear outperformed menswear. A combination of the good weather and early clearance sales is also to thank for heightened demand for sandal and summer casual footwear.
Meanwhile, big-ticket homewares and furniture sales slumped even further as a result of a weakened housing market. However, the hot weather meant that sales of garden furniture were boosted.
“June’s sunshine gave overall sales a much-needed boost,” says Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC. “The heatwave helped food retailers and got customers buying outdoor goods such as garden furniture, pools and picnicware. “ However, the much-welcomed sunshine didn’t spell all good news for retailers. “The sun knocked sales of big-ticket items, such as furniture and homewares, as people’s attention focused on the outdoors,” Robertson continues. “Given the uncertainty about jobs, customers are still nervous about spending on more expensive, non-essentials.”
And Helen Dickinson, Head of Retail, KPMG, said: “Although overall sales performance continues to be driven by food, many non-food retailers had a better month in June. This was certainly true in clothing as a result of some early sales and promotions which benefitted children’s clothing and footwear in particular.”
