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Since our last update, when BHS and Austin Reed Group had negotiated CVAs, both have now succumbed to administration. Although both have attracted a lot of interest, no announcement has yet been made regarding the future of these iconic brands.
Consumer confidence has also taken a bit of a knock since our last update, falling back into negative territory, as consumers show concern regarding Brexit and the wider Eurozone crisis. It will be interesting to see if this figure remains stable as we approach the EU referendum.
With the recently released Android Pay in the UK, data from the UK Cards Association has revealed that monthly contactless spending in the UK has reached a record high. A whopping £1.508bn was spent through contactless payments in March. This figure, despite security concerns surrounding contactless, looks destined to rise as the choice of options continues to grow for consumers.
As online continues to grow, footfall continues to decline, down 2.4% in April , following a 2.7% decline in the previous month. High streets saw the biggest decline with footfall down 4.7%, while shopping centre footfall edged down 0.7%. Retail parks, however, saw an uplift of 1.1%.
Interesting data from the Publishers Association was released in April that revealed sales of print books are rising for the first time in four years, while eBook sales were down for the first time since the e-reader hit the shelves. Total sales of book and journal publishing were up to £4.4bn in 2015.
In the same way, according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel for the 12 weeks to 10 April 2016, physical stores are taking customers back from e-retailers in the physical entertainment sector. The figures found that high street and grocery stores accounted for 69.8% of sales, compared to 67.5% the previous year.
These are both significant to the retail industry as the battle for online against physical retailing heats up, and demonstrate that although online is clearly an important strategic market for retailers, consumers still want (and need) that ability to physically be able to enter a shop and feel and see the product in their hands before buying.
You can keep up to date with the latest consumer trends and shopping habits here on SnapShop.
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