Member Article

UK retail figures increase steadily year-on-year

Retail suffered in August compared with the previous month, although year-on-year statistics showed stable increases.

Statistics from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) said that retail sales fell by 0.2% between July and August, however the amount of goods bought increased 2.7% when compared with August 2011.

According to ONS, for every pound spent on retail during August, 42 pence went on non-food items, while 41 pence went on foods, 12 pence was spent in petrol stations and 5 pence went on non-store retailing.

Online retailers said the Olympics had a negative impact on sales because people were watching the Games on television rather than using the internet to shop.

Internet sales fell by 9% in August and accounted for 8.1% of all retail sales, while department stores experienced an increase in sales.

A particular rise in football strip sales with the start of the new Championship was accelerated by the Olympics Games, showing a varying effect in different retail divisions.

ONS said: “The largest contribution to growth in the non-food sector came from the other stores category in particular sporting goods and toys.

“The amount spent on goods in the retail sector has been increasing since the beginning of the series in January 1996.

“The price of goods sold (or store price inflation) has continued to increase whilst the amount of goods bought increased up until 2007 and then stagnated up to August 2011.

“This indicates that since 2007, consumers have continued to buy a similar amount of goods but have spent more to do so.”

Rachel Argyle, consumer business director at Deloitte in the North West, said: “The figures suggest that for some North West retailers, the Olympic summer didn’t meet expectations. Now as we approach the ‘golden quarter’, it is apparent that Christmas will once again be tough for the industry. There is little evidence to suggest that conditions will improve dramatically anytime soon.

“However, there will always be winners and losers in retail and it is increasingly true that the winners are those retailers that get their strategy right across stores, online and mobile. Mobile in particular is growing in influence and represents an opportunity for retailers to create a distinctive experience for their customers and take market share.

“Almost half of UK smartphone owners have used their device to research product information before or during a shopping trip. As a result, around 6% of in-store retail sales are being influenced by smartphone use, equivalent to more than £15bn of sales this year. This is almost double the value of direct purchases made through mobiles which are estimated at around £1bn in 2012.”

Adam Stewart, Marketing Director, Rakuten’s Play.com added: “These retail figures come as no surprise, August is traditionally the calm before the Christmas rush. This is also an exceptional year, with the Olympics capturing the nation’s attention for half the summer it comes as no surprise that shopping was not top of the priority list.

“The summer months are a time for retailers to take stock and start gearing up for the Golden Quarter as consumers begin to start thinking about buying gifts for Christmas. Last October saw a rise from September 2011 by 0.6 per cent, according to the ONS, as a result of pre-Christmas sales and promotions and we expect this year to follow a similar pattern.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .