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Festive season fails to boost UK retail sales

Jan 11, 2024 United Kingdom

UK retail sales rose by 1.7% in the five weeks to the end of December 2023, well below the 6.9% growth recorded in the same period in 2022. Low consumer confidence continues to curb spending

According to Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), “the festive period failed to make amends for a challenging year of sluggish retail sales growth, as weak consumer confidence continued to hold back spending”.

The business organisation (BRC) reported that UK retail sales rose by 1.7% between 26^th of the November and the 30^th of December, well below the 6.9% growth recorded in the same period in 2022. In addition, this was below the 3-month average growth of 2.3% and the 12-month average growth of 3.6%.

The data also shows that while food sales increased by 6.8% on a total basis in the three months to December, non-food sales decreased by 1.5% on a total basis in the same period, as compared to the same period in 2022; similarly, in-store non-food sales declined by 1.3%. Meanwhile, online non-food sales were down by 0.8% in December, against a decline of 3.0% in the same month of the prior year.

“Christmas shoppers ditched clothing, jewellery and technology gifts, opting for beauty, health and personal care products, which, along with food and drink, drove festive sales this year. Online sales remained in negative territory, although the decline was weaker than seen in recent months, with sales down nearly 1% on last year”, said Paul Martin, UK Head of Retail at KPMG.

For 2023 as a whole, UK retail sales were up by 3.6%, with a food growth of 8.1% and a non-food decline of 0.1%, as compared to the previous year.

“As we start a new year, cautious consumers are battening down the hatches and retailers can expect to see significant downward pressures on demand in the opening months of this year, which will ease off by Spring if the economic conditions continue to improve and confidence slowly returns”, foresees Paul Martin.

Image Credits: reuters.com

United Kingdom Confidence Organisations Retail Sales