UK clothing sales fall furthest in November | Apparel Industry News

Clothing retailers reported the sharpest decline in sales volumes in November with a monthly fall of 19%

Six consecutive months of growth within the retail sector came to an end in November, with clothing retailers reporting the sharpest decline in sales volumes.

The latest data released today (18 December) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows UK retail sales volumes in November decreased by 3.8% when compared with October as many stores ceased trading following government guidance during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the monthly fall, overall sales remain above their pre-pandemic levels.

Clothing retailers reported the steepest fall in sales volumes in November with a monthly fall of 19%. Retailers commented that despite extensive online Black Friday promotions, the enforced closure of stores had affected sales. The sector has struggled to recover from the initial declines witnessed immediately after the first set of national lockdown measures, and remains 30.5% below February’s level.

The monthly growth rate for value sales, meanwhile, was negative 4.1%.

Total retail sales excluding fuel displayed a switch to online sales with the amount spent in stores falling by 6.7%. The amount spent online increased by 6.3% in November when compared with the month prior.

Clothing retailers saw the largest fall in in-store sales with a monthly fall of 33%, with only a modest uptake in online sales at 7.9%.

A survey examining the business impact of Covid-19 carried out by the ONS showed 73.9% of retailers selling textiles, clothing, and footwear said turnover was down in the last weeks in comparison to normal expectations for this time of year.

Online retailing, meanwhile, accounted for 31.4% of total retailing compared with 28.6% in October. This is, however, still lower than the peak witnessed during the first wave of the pandemic in May when the proportion of online sales reached 33.9%. 

Overall growth was 74.7% in terms of the value of sales when compared with last year. 

National measures during November meant physical non-essential stores were closed causing a shift to online purchasing, while there were also extensive online Black Friday promotions.

All sectors, except non-store retailing, saw an increase in online sales on the month prior with department stores reporting the largest growth of 24.7%. Textile, clothing, and footwear stores recorded month-on-month growth of 7.9%, while year-on-year, online sales increased by 52%.

Fashion sales suffering at unprecedented levels

Lynda Petherick, head of retail for Accenture UK and Ireland, notes in a month where England went back into lockdown and the UK as a whole was subject to tightening restrictions, it’s little surprise that physical retail sales growth stalled in November.

“However, the show must go on when it comes to Christmas shopping, and some retailers have triumphed by preparing their e-commerce operations for the boom in online sales. Black Friday and early festive shopping continued to stimulate a sector so desperately trying to build recovery momentum.

“Worryingly, the ‘virtual high-street’ is showing signs of strain in responding to the surge in online orders. Many retailers reported operational challenges in November which caused orders to fail, while some couriers reported major delivery delays. Adding to that, fears of an incoming global shipping crisis may cause retailers to feel as though they are facing an onslaught of issues outside of their control.

“Nevertheless, the critical need for retailers to invest in digital was no secret even before the pandemic and has played a key role in retailers’ abilities to manage the uncertainties of this year. The brands who will succeed this Christmas are those who have taken time in 2020 to refine their digital capabilities and were braced for the wave of online order volumes.”

Lee Lucas, principal and CEO of the Fashion Retail Academy, concurs it’s no surprise to see sales dip month on month.

“November is one the busiest months of the year for retailers, so this emergency measure by the Government will have been directly responsible for the unusually high level of discounting currently in stores, with shops fighting for every consumer in the briefest of run-ups to Christmas.

“The sales figures have shown that retailers with a strong digital presence were able to reap the benefits during lockdown as a flurry of online activity saw web sales soar by 74.7% compared to last year. 

“While this year has been a challenge, the roll-out of the vaccine will have lifted hopes that tiers and restrictions will soon be behind us, and some semblance of normality can return.”

Meanwhile, Jacqui Baker, director of retail at audit, tax and consulting firm RSM, notes the figures illustrate the volatile times we are living in.

November was a double-edged sword for retailers. The most lucrative trading event of the year came coupled with a new national lockdown in England.

“Analysts’ predictions of the best Black Friday on record went swiftly out the window and the market was left uncertain of the impact on consumer confidence. Newly adopted behaviours for online shopping continued to prop up the market with the proportion of online penetration stepping back up in November. Many retailers stretched out Black Friday promotions to help maintain demand across the month and spread out orders. But this wasn’t enough to boost sales beyond what we saw in October, resulting in a fall in both volume and value of sales during the month.”

She adds disparity between bricks and mortar and online continues to grow, as does the contrast between winners and losers. Food and household goods retained growth in their categories whilst store-based fashion retailers are seeing sales suffer at unprecedented levels. The impact of the lockdown in England was too much to bear for some and we saw the fall of some of fashion’s high street giants at the start of December.

“With the end of the rent moratorium and business rates relief drawing near, what the sector needs now is acknowledgement of the broken model for high street retailers. With the impact that Brexit will inevitably bring to supply chains and labour markets, Government must step soon to supply some relief to retailers for the coming year.”