
Total UK retail sales in discretionary spend categories increased by 7.7 per cent in December last year compared to a negative base in 2023, but failed to boost overall growth in the last quarter (Q4) of 2024, according to accountancy and business advisory firm BDO’s latest High Street Sales Tracker for the United Kingdom.
Growth was driven by online sales, while high street stores continued to struggle.
Q4 growth was driven by online sales, while high street shops saw 0.1-per cent sales growth.
In-store sales grew by 4.3 per cent.
The fashion sector grew by 8.8 per cent compared to minus 6.1 per cent in December 2023.
High street shops saw flat sales growth of just 0.1 per cent in final three months last year.
In-store sales grew by 4.3 per cent compared to negative base of minus 2.6 per cent in December 2023.
The fashion sector performed particularly poorly, growing by 8.8 per cent from a base of minus 6.1 per cent in December 2023.
BDO’s latest report shows that while Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas Eve drove sales growth both online and in-store in December, like-for-like sales figures for Q4 2024 (also referred to as retail’s ‘golden quarter’) saw overall growth of just 2 per cent compared to a base of minus 1.6 per cent in 2023.
Bricks-and-mortar shops fared particularly poorly in this period, with sales remaining flat at 0.1 per cent compared to 2023’s base of minus 0.2 per cent.
Outside of the first and last weeks of December, which saw the major sales events, high street sales performed very poorly, with sales declining by 3.91 per cent compared to a weak base in 2023 of minus 3.61 per cent.
Bad weather and widespread flooding may have driven consumers to shop online, where sales increased by 20.7 per cent, BSO noted.
“While December’s overall sales figures saw a slight uptick thanks to major sales events, this is a continuation of the poor performance we’ve seen throughout the so-called ‘Golden Quarter’. After a challenging year, this low level of growth is a real concern for the retail sector. The struggling performance of high street stores is particularly notable, with essentially flat growth against last year’s very poor baseline, meaning that volumes were once again negative,” Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO, said in a release from the firm.
“While there was optimism as we entered 2024, the reality proved to be a difficult trading year for the retail sector, with economic uncertainty and supply chain disruptions. The biggest concern however is that 2025 is not expected to improve as businesses are yet to feel the impact of increased wage costs introduced in the Budget which disproportionately impacts consumer-facing sectors,” she said.
“Recent reports note that 170,000 shop workers lost their jobs in 2024, with an expectation that this number will only increase in 2025. January will be telling once retailers see the level of returns from unwanted Christmas presents; the industry would be forgiven for lacking much New Year optimism,” she added.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)