Homeware sales remained in negative territory on the high street, while footfall delivered double-digit growth.

According to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker, total like-for-like (LFL) sales rose by 13.67% for the week ending 8 January 2023.

Homeware total LFLs dropped by 2.48% from a good base of +38.65% for the same week last year, marking the category’s seventh negative result in the last ten weeks.

Instore homeware sales grew by +6.90% from a rebounding base of +4,445.36% for the same week last year, the category’s sixth positive result in the last ten weeks.

Total in-store LFL sales leapt by +17.73% from a base of +2,549.84% for the same week last year. The inflated base figure reflects the rebounding effects associated with Tier 4 physical trading restrictions during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021. Total non-store LFL sales grew by +7.09% from a positive base of +2.91% in the same week last year and have now held firm in positive territory for the last ten weeks.

Commenting on the results, BDO said: “In a week that included the New Year’s Day bank holiday, total LFL sales may have been boosted by January discounting and promotional sales.

“During this week, the weather was unstable with temperatures widely average to mild throughout, alongside a mixture of sporadic rain, sunshine and strong winds. The same week in 2022 was generally colder with a mixture of sunny spells and sporadic rain.”

Overall footfall rose by +14.6% this week compared to the same week last year. Double digit growth was recorded in footfall figures for the high street (+19.7%) and shopping centres (+14.0%), while retail parks saw a growth of +4.3% year-on-year.