According to the High Street Sales Tracker (HSST), published by BDO, homeware was the lone bright spot on the high street with in-store sales up by 5.6% in June. Conversely, lifestyle sales fell by 3.5%.
“June was another washout month for the high street,” states Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO. “We saw retailers discount early on in June, adding further pressure to tighten margins, yet they still weren’t able to salvage the month.”
She believes that retailers are “stuck between a rock and a hard place,” adding, “they want to invest and adapt but they don’t have the funds or confidence to do so. At the same time, shoppers are holding back as consumer confidence falls and discretionary spend slips away.”
Highlighting the ‘Brexit’ effect, she continued: “June marked the third anniversary of the EU referendum yet we still have no clear path forward, and the uncertainty for both consumers and businesses is having a crippling effect. Time is running out and the government urgently needs to take action to help save the high street.”
The findings of the company’s High Street Sales Tracker, like-for-like in-store sales fell by 0.8% in June.
Top: High streets had a washout June.
