[ad_1]
UK retailers have launched a barrage of discounts to try to clear stock after a month of slumping sales as rising inflation and bills hit household budgets and a warmer autumn dampened demand for coats and boots.
On Monday, New Look was offering 50% off all products, Asos with up to 80% off almost all lines and Boohoo with up to 30% off, along with many other fashion retailers – including Marks & Spencer, River Island and Matalan – offers between 20 % and 30% cut.
The discount came as industry insiders warned that a number of online fashion retailers had experienced a more than 10% year-on-year drop in sales in November.
Online retailers have been hit particularly hard by a combination of unseasonably mild weather, which has hit sales of higher-priced coats, sturdy footwear and knitwear, cost-of-living on shoppers’ spending power, and more competition from the high street. 2021 covid lockdown and omicron fear.
Despite that recovery, physical stores still suffer. UK shopping destinations reported a 4.2% year-on-year increase in visitor numbers in the week to Saturday 26 November, which includes the Black Friday discount day. However, visitor numbers remained 14% below pre-pandemic levels, with coastal and market towns and regional cities particularly struggling to bounce back.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said retailers were “feeling the chill” as sales reversed this month and expected to fall flat in December after a rise in October.
Its headline retail sales balance – which marks the difference between the percentage of retailers reporting sales increases and those reporting declines – fell to -19% in November from +18% last month, and is forecast to slide to -21%. December.
CBI Chief Economist Martin Sartorius said in the survey results “Underline how tough times are for the sector.
He said: “It is no surprise that retailers are feeling the chill as the economic headwinds continue in the UK. Year-over-year sales fell at a steady pace in November and retailers are significantly downbeat about their future business prospects. This pessimism is reflected in the worst worsening investment intentions since May 2020.
Kien Tan, a retail expert at advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, said online retailers appeared to be discounting more because they found life difficult. “The overall pie for online retailers has shrunk,” Tan said, adding that discounting is likely to intensify closer to Christmas as retailers try to clear stocks ahead of an expected economic downturn next year.
However, he said the overall level of discounting looks similar to last year with fewer retailers offering blanket discounts and more focus on trying to replace cold weather gear.
Warehouse owners grappling with piles of unsold fashion built for winter are eager to clear out unwanted stock as the price of the collection has nearly doubled since the pandemic began.
Shipping firm Maersk said low demand and full warehouses meant its customers were reluctant to take their imports from ports and it offered to slow down cargo ships to ease pressure in the UK.
[ad_2]
Source link