Register for Digital Look

Retail sales crash to worst month on record

By Sean Farrell

Date: Friday 03 Apr 2020

Retail sales crash to worst month on record

(Sharecast News) - Retail sales crashed to their worst month on record in March as government coronavirus measures hit trading and consumers tightened their belts, a closely watched survey showed.
Total sales at outlets open a year or more fell 17.9% as in-store sales plunged by more than a third, according to the BDO high street sales tracker.

After holding steady in the first two weeks of March sales began to drop as shoppers began to stay away over concerns about Covid-19. After the government told shops to close like-for-like sales plunged 63% in the final week of March.

BDO, the accountancy firm that compiles the survey, said: "While government mandated social distancing measures were only brought in at the end of March, the spread of Covid-19 began to affect retailers much earlier through disruption to supply chains and a gradual pull-back from consumers.

"Though it is too early to assess the full-scale impact on the economy, it is already clear that economic growth expectations will be drastically cut as recessionary forces mount."

Fashion sales were the worst-affected, dropping 25.9% in March and by more than 70% in the final week. Lifestyle sales fell 11.6% for the month and homeware sales declined by 9.7%.

Non-store sales, including online, rose 13.7% as shoppers switched from visiting high streets but fashion retailers suffered declining non-store sales. The figures underlined Next Chief Executive Simon Wolfson's comment that "people do not buy a new outfit to stay at home".

Footfall in stores fell in every week in March from a year earlier with drops of more than 80% on high streets and in shopping centres in the final week. Retailers were already under pressure from online competition and consumers holding off on purchases due to economic concerns before the Covid-19 crisis, which has closed stores, restricted movement and increased economic uncertainty.

BDO said: "Consumer spending on discretionary items is an immediate casualty of the circumstances with reports suggesting a notable decline in major purchases over the coming months. The government has already announced some relief measures for beleaguered businesses. However as many retailers rely solely on non-store channels to maintain sales revenue through this period of lockdown there will be need for additional support in the months ahead."

..

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:


Top of Page