UK: Clothing sales take hit in January despite retail volumes increasing elsewhere

New figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown a disappointing January for textile clothing and footwear stores, for which sales volumes fell by 2.7 percent on the month.

A reduction in consumer confidence was cited as the cause for the drop in sales, which also contributed to a wider decrease of 1.3 percent in volumes for non-food stores as a whole.

This contrasted overall retail sales volumes, which rose 1.7 percent for the month, a positive uptick compared to a drop of 0.6 percent in December. When weighed against pre-pandemic levels in February 2020, however, volumes were down 1.3 percent.

Online sales took an even sharper tumble, with overall sales dropping 1.7 percent in January, and clothing and footwear stores reporting a decrease of almost 7.5 percent for the period.

In a statement to FashionUnited, Alice Cowley, retail strategy MD at Accenture, said: “This past three-month period has fallen short of expectations for many, as shoppers increasingly prioritised essentials only in non-food categories and turned to own label food products, weakening margins. This, coupled with increasingly bad weather resulted in a subdued January, not the splash retailers will have wished for.”

Looking ahead, Cowley said retailers would be focused on “offsetting rising cost pressures from employer national insurance contributions, an increased national living wage and a new packaging levy without pricing out consumers”.

She added: “To stay competitive, retailers should embrace innovation, streamlining supply chains, investing in technology, and delivering standout customer experiences with the personalisation shoppers expect.”