EASTER DELIVERED A CLEAR BOOST TO SALES IN UK TOWNS AND CITIES IN MARCH, FUELLED BY HOSPITALITY.
According to Diane Wehrle, of Rendle Intelligence and Insights, and Beauclair’s Brand Ambassador commenting on Beauclair’s March 2024 Data.
Sales across UK towns and cities appear to steady last month, with a marginal uplift of +0.2% from March 2023. However, this was undoubtedly supported by the success of Easter – the final weekend of the month – when sales rose by +7%. So, with a virtually flat result over the month as a whole, it seems that consumers held back on spending over the preceding weeks in anticipation of the bank holiday weekend.
Taking into account inflation, the rise in sales of +0.2% indicates a decrease in spending value over March in real terms. However, a positive sign was that the number of customers who purchased goods rose by +2.3%, indicating that a greater of number of customers visiting towns and cities purchased. At the same time, it was what consumers purchased in March that was particularly interesting and revealing of current consumer behaviour.
The major winner in March was Food & Drink (hospitality) with a rise in sales from March 2023 of +7.6%, followed by General Retail (+3%), Grocery (+2.3) and Entertainment (+1.8%). The challenging trading conditions for Fashion continued in March with sales -1.4% lower than in March 2023. However, this was an improved position from January and February when Fashion sales declined annually by an average of -8.4%, and suggests that shoppers are starting to refresh their wardrobes for Spring.
The results for Food & Drink in March are particularly interesting, as the uplift in hospitality sales of +7.6% was driven by increases in all of the three key metrics (the number of transactions, the number of customers and the average transaction value). However, it was the ATV that recorded the greatest annual uplift in March of +5.3%, more than double the uplift of the other two metrics, indicating that consumers opted for hospitality venues with a higher price point. Easter was a key contributor to this, when the ATV for Food & Drink was +7% higher than over Easter 2023, indicating that consumers chose to frequent more upmarket dining venues over the bank holiday weekend.
The sector facing the greatest challenge is Household, where sales declined annually in March by a staggering -33.7%. This is a longer term trend, following on from annual drops of a similar magnitude in both January and February which averaged -38.7%. The reasons for the contraction in spending in this sector are well known; a drop in demand in response the boom in this sector over the past four years during the pandemic period, now combined with a pull back on spending on large ticket items as inflation and higher interest rates have impacted households’ budgets.
The results for March suggest a steadying of the ship in sales for the UK towns and cities, however, we must be cognisant of the fact that this year Easter occurred in March which clearly provided a spending boost for the month. It is likely therefore, that the results for April will return to negative territory, and the true picture will be provided by comparing this two month period with the same two months in 2023.
The table above shows the average performance of a 62 towns and city centres, across a range of key Retail Spend metrics.