At Dymond Shop Fittings we specialise in creating bespoke metal display solutions for retailers, retail designers and shopfitters – so we’re always following the latest retail numbers pretty closely. The sales growth curve for February, March, April and May this year has been flat, but it ticked up significantly in June as warm weather brought the shoppers out in droves.
Hot to shop
In actual fact the weather overall was pretty mixed (no surprises there then!). Rainfall was well above normal over large parts of the country, with up to three times the average amount in parts of southern and eastern Scotland. The UK as a whole had its sixth wettest June since 1910. However, the UK mean temperature was 14.5 °C, which is 1.5 °C above the 1981-2010 long-term average, making it the equal fifth warmest June since 1910. A sweltering 34.5 °C was recorded at Heathrow Airport on the 21st, the UK’s highest temperature reading in June since 1976.
According to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker, reported in The Retail Gazette, retailers saw overall sales increase by 1.3 per cent compared to June last year. Fashion performed especially well – sales went up by 1.4 per cent year-on-year as shoppers overhauled their wardrobes in the June sunshine. Like-for-like sales of lifestyle goods also showed a healthy 1.2 per cent bounce, boosted by strong tourist numbers and Father’s Day. Even homeware sales edged up, by a slightly less impressive 0.5 per cent.
Fashion retail is a sector we are particularly interested in as a large proportion of the shopfittings we fabricate are for fashion brands and retailers.
The longer range forecast
Despite these promising figures business advisors BDO warned that retail trading during the previous June was particularly slow – the country saw a post-Brexit referendum sales slump and this should to be taken into account when assessing the June 2017 jump.
BDO head of retail Sophie Michael, reported in the Retail Gazette, said “This time last year the EU referendum outcome led to reluctance by consumers to spend, making it the high street’s worst June in a decade. This June, consumers were distracted by a general election, but that didn’t stop them heading to the shops when the sun came out.”
Looking ahead she remarked that “Retailers will take heart from consumers’ willingness to spend, but there is evidence shoppers are delving into their savings which is clearly not a sustainable position.”
Rising to the challenge
Sophie Michael ends by reminding retailers that this is no time for complacency. “With real earnings falling, which will inevitably result in consumers tightening their belts, product range and the retail experience will be ever more important factors together with discount offers to encourage spending.”
This conclusion, though perhaps slightly unwelcome, is hard to argue against. Even if consumers are feeling the pinch they will continue to shop – but in stores where the goods are displayed to best advantage and where the environment is most inviting and inspiring. This is where effective retail display equipment can help but attracting customers in and presenting merchandise with enticing, easy to shop displays.
If you’d like to discuss the best ways to achieve this we’d love to share our design and fabricating experience, our precision engineering skills and our understanding of the retail environment, to help you create eye-catching display solutions.