Homeware sales remained in negative territory on the high street while footfall returned to growth.
According to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker, total like-for-like (LFL) sales rose by 0.18% for the week ending 30 April 2023.
Homeware total LFLs flattened by 0.92% from an already weak base of 16.00% for the same week last year. This week’s result marks the category’s thirteenth negative result so far in 2023.
Store homeware sales sprang up by +10.04%, offsetting a weak base of 9.46% for the same week last year and marking the category’s sixteenth positive result for 2023.
Total in-store LFL sales climbed by +3.10% from a solid base of +23.93% for the same week last year. Total non-store LFL sales declined by -2.91% from a positive base of +8.95% for the same week last year.
Commenting on the results, BDO said: “Total LFLs were sustained this week by positive in-store LFL sales for Lifestyle and Homewares, while non-store LFLs were negative for all categories except Lifestyle. Fashion in-store LFLs lodged a third consecutive week of negative results, the first of such instance since March 2021 when the UK was in lockdown.
“This week experienced extreme weather fluctuations caused by the April Arctic Blast with temperatures plunging to as low as -7°C, bringing about wintry conditions in northern parts of the UK, while temperatures soared to the high teens in southern areas by the end of the week. The same week last year saw partly cloudy conditions with strong winds amidst sunny spells.”
Overall footfall grew by +5.4% compared to the equivalent week last year. Footfall figures improved across the three categories with the high street seeing a climb of +7.5%, an increase of +5.8% was recorded in shopping centres while the retail parks saw flat growth (+0.3%) this week.
