High street fashion sales falter in
warm October
In-store fashion sales fell 0.9% year on year in October but this was still the category’s best
performance since January, according to BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker.
Like-for-like fashion sales were negative in three out of the five weeks in October, jumping
between a low of -5.2% to a high of +2%, as consumers shunned new collections in the
unseasonably warm weather.
The tracker, which follows the sales of around 80 mid-market chains, found fashion fell
behind sales on the high street overall with an increase of 0.7% during the month, ending a
run of monthly sales falls that began with a 1.7% fall in February.
The month’s findings will add fuel to the fire of forecasters who are signaling a wider trend of
consumer spend towards other segments at the expense of fashion.
Sales of lifestyle goods increased by 2.3% in October and homewares by 11.6%, while nonstore sales rose 19.5% after dropping to just 12.6% in September.