Comparing September’s city centre sales data as compiled by Beauclair with data from the ONS highlights how the mix of sectors in city centres has changed dramatically since lockdown with food & drink and grocery being the biggest winners followed by fashion, while general retail, which includes department stores, is the big loser.
ONS data showed retail sales declining -1.5% on a month-on-month basis, although they were up +3.8% on a year-on-year basis and up +11.9% on their level in February 2020 before the covid lockdown.
City centres perform less well than overall retail on three measures, showing a month-on-month decline of -3.8%, year-on-year growth of +3.0% and only a +1.9% increase on February 2020.
There is a greater contrast with ONS data at a sectoral level. ONS sees food sector sales having grown by +6.1% on a year-on-year basis and by +10.1% on the pre-covid period. City centre sales in food & drink plus grocery have grown much more strongly, by +7.6% on a year-on-year basis and by +22.1% since the pre-covid period.
City centre fashion stores have also performed much more strongly than the national average. The ONS has clothing stores growing +7.4% on a year-on-year basis and +3.5% since the pre-covid period. The respective figures for city centres are +0.8% and +17.6%.
Meanwhile, general retail in city centres has performed much more weakly than the national average, posting -16.3% declines since the pre-covid period, nearly twenty-five percentage points weaker than the ONS figure for “non-food” stores, +7.2%.
These contrasts highlight how the retail mix in city centres has changed since lockdown, with huge growth in food and drink, with fashion increasing but the general retail sector – of which department stores are a major component – in very significant decline.
Notes
The data analysed in this article comes from the ONS and from an anonymised database of offline debit and credit card accounts from 62 city centres in Great Britain.
Sector definitions in Beauclair data:
Fashion – Baby and Childrenswear, Bags and Accessories, Jewellery and Watches, Lingerie, Menswear, Shoes, Sportswear, Unisex, Womenswear
Food & Drink – Alcoholic Beverages, Cafes and Coffee Shops, Confectionery, Fast Food Chains, Food Delivery Services, Non-Alcoholic Beverages, Pubs and Bars, Restaurants
General Retail – Books and Stationery, Cards and Gifts, Department Stores, Digital Marketplace, Discount Retailers, Electronics and Appliances, Other – General Retail, Pets
Grocery – Corner Shops and Newsagents, Grocery Delivery, Specialist Grocery, Supermarkets, Wholesalers