Homeware sales fell back into negative territory on the high street while footfall was largely flat overall.

According to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker, total like-for-like (LFL) sales fell by 2.99% for the week ending 23 April 2023.

Homeware total LFLs declined by 1.65% from a weak base of 11.38% for the same week last year. This week’s result marks the category’s twelfth negative result so far in 2023.

Store homeware sales jumped by +13.87%, easily offsetting a weak base of 3.73% for the same week last year and marking the category’s fifteenth positive result for 2023.

Total in-store LFL sales grew by +1.80% from a strong base of +22.73% for the same week last year. Total non-store LFL sales collapsed by -9.35% from a good base of +14.66% for the same week last year.

Commenting on the results, BDO said: “With the exception of Lifestyle, which saw a slight blip in LFL sales this week, Fashion and Homewares LFL sales were in negative territory, resulting in the second negative total LFL sales result so far in 2023.

“Although in-store total LFLs climbed marginally this week, online sales were deeply in the red across segments, weighing down total LFLs.

“While the first half of this week saw temperatures rise as high as 20°C and a fair bit of sunshine, it cooled down towards the weekend amidst cold air, strong winds and outbreaks of rain. During the same week last year, the UK experienced a combination of sunny spells and windy conditions.”

Overall footfall was flat this week, seeing a slight increase of +0.3% compared to the same week last year. Footfall on the high street grew by +1.9%, while shopping centres saw a slight blip of +0.4% and retail parks recorded a decline of -3.0%.