UK clothing retail sales growth accelerated in the year to December, with volumes rising at the fastest pace since September 2015, boosted by strong clothing revenues, as per the latest Distributive Trades Survey by Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
The survey showed that orders placed on suppliers rose at the fastest pace in over a year, but are expected to be broadly stable in January. Clothing reported a strong year-to-date for sales volumes, with 82 per cent of clothing retailers reporting year-on-year growth in the period. However, it is expected to slow down at in the year to January with 53 per cent.
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The survey highlighted that 51 per cent of retailers said that sales volumes were up in the year to December from previous year, while 16 per cent said they were down, giving a balance of +35 per cent. Moreover, 32 per cent of retailers placed more orders with suppliers than they did a year ago as per the survey, while 19 per cent placed fewer orders, giving a balance of +12 per cent.
“While we still expect to see decent growth in the near term, the pressures on retail activity are likely to increase during 2017, as the impact of sterling’s depreciation feeds through. With higher inflation beginning to weigh on households’ purchasing power, consumption patterns are likely to shift, creating winners and losers across the retail landscape,” says Ben Jones, Principal Economist, CBI.
