The fashion industry took a hard hit in November as England implemented another lockdown, leading to a decrease in sales across the sector, according to a recent report by Barclaycard. With numerous stores forced to close their doors, both the fashion sector and department stores experienced a sharp decline in sales. Overall consumer spending decreased by 1.9%, with the only exception being a 4.9% increase in spending on essential items.
Department stores saw a particularly significant drop, with sales declining by 18% in value and 28.9% in volume. Similarly, clothing sales were down 13% in value and 22.1% in volume, marking the steepest declines since June when the first lockdown measures were in place.
Despite the closure of non-essential brick-and-mortar stores, online retail experienced growth, although it couldn’t entirely compensate for the loss in sales. E-commerce sales saw a notable increase, rising by 23% in volume and 34.6% in value. General retailers saw a substantial 73.8% increase, while clothing retailers experienced a 35.6% rise in online sales.
Consumers shifted their focus to essential goods like food and beverages, as well as holiday shopping for items such as new game consoles and video games. Online spending at specialty retailers, including toy shops, jewellers, and gift shops, surged by an impressive 85.8%.
Although there was an increase in sales for essentials and festive gifts within the pharmacy, health & beauty category, there was still an overall decrease of 2.8% in value and 14.8% in volume. Traditional discount stores proved to be popular among consumers, with a rise of 37.8% in value and 10.2% in volume as shoppers sought value for their money in their purchases.
Barclaycard’s sales data for November underscores the impact of lockdown measures on the fashion sector and consumer spending behavior in general. While some categories experienced growth, others faced significant declines, indicating the challenges that retailers continue to grapple with during these uncertain times.
For more information on this topic, you can visit Retail Gazette and UK Government’s Coronavirus Website.
