Homeware sales fell on the high street, while overall sales followed in the same trend at the beginning of January.

According to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker, total like-for-like (LFL) sales fell by 1.55% for the week ending 7 January 2024.

Homeware total LFLs slumped by -11.56% from an already negative base of -2.48% for the same week last year, indicative of the category’s fourth negative result in the last ten weeks.

Store sales for homeware sank by -10.64% from a base of +6.90% for the same week last year, marking the category’s second successive negative result and its third in the last ten weeks.

Total in-store LFL sales was flat with a tiny increase of +0.48% from a base of +17.73% for the same week last year. Total non-store LFL sales fell by -0.72% from a good base of +7.09% for the same week last year.

Commenting on the results, BDO said: “Although in-store sales saw a slight growth in the first week of 2024, it was not enough to boost total LFL sales which were dragged down by weak non-store result.

“The first week of the year started wet and windy but gradually moved to drier and colder weather with temperatures dropping. The same week last year saw unsettled weather with strong winds and intermittent showers.”

Overall footfall dropped by -2.6% compared to the corresponding week last year. High street footfall saw a meagre growth of +0.6%, while footfall in retail parks and shopping centres declined by -6.5% and -5.3% respectively.