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So Christmas has been and gone, delivering a mixed bag of results across the retail sector as evidenced in our Christmas Sales report, and highlighting those retailers that are teetering on the edge.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however.
2017 saw the UK entertainment retail market sales hit record highs in 2017 outpacing the wider UK economy by more than four-fold. According to the latest figures from the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), which combines music, film and video games, sales grew 8.8% to £7.24 billion last year, marking the fifth successive year of growth. This “historic” growth is down to the growing presence of digital services like Spotify and Amazon, accounting for more than 70% of entertainment sales values during the year.
The coffee shop market also had a good 2017. Store openings contributed to 7.3% hike in turnover to £9.6bn across the category in 2018 according to Allegra World Coffee Portal in its Project Café 2018 UK study. Over the year, 1,215 openings took the total number of stores to 24,061. Branded chains accounted for 10.5% of the sales growth, with combined revenue of £4bn. Costa, Starbucks and Caffe Nero continue to dominate the market, and together make up 52.9% of the total branded chain market.
So what does 2018 hold?
With December seeing falling retail sales as a result of Black Friday bringing Christmas sales forward, footfall decreasing during the month and consumer confidence dropping by one point, 2018 could, perhaps, see the retail market get worse before it gets better. Retailers are going to have to innovate and make the latest advances in technology work for them to entice shoppers to part with their cash and visit their shops, rather than shopping solely online; and landlords are going to have to get their tenant mix right to ensure they are catering for the needs of their local shoppers and visitors alike.
FSP can help with location strategies and tenant mix strategies. Contact us to find out how.
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