“Fashion retailers will be particularly concerned that they have now recorded negative sales on the high street for 10 months in a row. The new government has pledged to breathe new life into Britain’s high streets, with a five-point plan for bringing consumers back into town and city centres. For the UK’s struggling retail sector, this rejuvenation plan cannot come quickly enough,” said Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO. 

Despite the poor performance of high street fashion stores, total in-store and online retail sales grew by 3.2 per cent in June, representing the strongest sales growth since August 2023. This marks the second consecutive positive month for total retail sales, following five months of negative results. However, BDO’s data, which examines sales across discretionary spend categories, indicates that this growth was predominantly driven by online sales, which increased by 9.8 per cent. In-store sales, on the other hand, recorded a modest performance with a growth of just 1.8 per cent, as per BDO.

The lifestyle sector has maintained a positive trajectory throughout 2024, with total sales growing by 7.5 per cent in June. Both in-store and online sales contributed to this positive result, demonstrating a balanced performance across different retail channels.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)