Table of Contents
UK Retail Sales – Impact of COVID-19
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- Key points
- Retail sales
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- Figure 10: Retail sales trends, January 2019 – April 2020
- BRC vs ONS
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- Figure 11: UK retail sales y/y growth, BRC vs ONS, January 2018 – April 2020
- Inflation
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- Figure 12: Annual percentage change in the consumer price index for selected product groups, March 2019 - April 2020
- Inflation and wages
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- Figure 13: Real wages growth: Wages growth vs inflation, January 2016 – April 2020
- Consumer confidence
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- Figure 14: Mintel Financial confidence tracker, January 2018 – April 2020
- Looking forward
Sector Focus – Online
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- April online retail sales see an uptick
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- Figure 15: All online retail sales (ex-fuel), non-seasonally adjusted, January 2019-April 2020
- Clothing and footwear worst performing online category
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- Figure 16: Annual % change in selected online categories, January 2019-April 2020
- COVID-19 has accelerated online trends
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- Figure 17: Changes in shopping behaviours due to COVID-19, May 14-May 21,2020
Launch Activity and Innovations
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- UK: Aldi launches online food boxes of essential items
- UK: Next to open standalone beauty hall
- UK: Harrods offers remote personal shopping service for selected customers
- UK: PC Curry’s launches virtual advice tool for customers during lockdown
- UK: Liverpool ONE launches a 'virtual enlivenment programme' to help entertain local community
Headlines for the Month
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- Grocers
- Other food specialists
- Clothing retailing
- Footwear retailing
- Department stores
- DIY retailing
- Electrical retailing
- Homewares retailing
- Online shopping
- Economy
News Analysis – Food and Drink
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- Bakers
- UK: Greggs trials store reopenings behind closed doors
- Grocers
- UK: Aldi agrees to buying more plants and beef to support suppliers
- UK: Asda
- …gives 3,500 priority passes to care homes for online shopping
- …suspends clothing orders with suppliers
- UK: Lidl opens new store in Tottenham Court road to help serve NHS workers at nearby hospital
- UK: Morrisons customers can order by phone for next-day delivery
- UK: Sainsbury’s
- …opens petrol station stores and extends opening hours
- …early stockpiling not enough to offset decline in profits at Sainsbury’s
- UK: Tesco
- …offers staff free access to digital wellness tools
- …consumers shop less frequently but with bigger baskets reports Tesco boss
- UK: Waitrose
- …ramps up food innovations for summer
- …click & collect slots doubles and 40% of rapid deliveries earmarked for vulnerable
- Other food specialists
- UK: Hotel Chocolat to open selected stores for takeaway
News Analysis – Clothing and Footwear
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- UK: Harpenne halts online trading amid ongoing coronavirus crisis
- UK: Joules receives an extra £15m to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19
- UK: Mango debuts capsule collections made from recycled fibres
- UK: Moss Bros delays full-year results until late July
- UK: Next
- …sales fall ‘faster and steeper than anticipated’
- …to resume online trading as it rolls out new safety measures at its distribution centre
- UK: Oasis and Warehouse
- …to permanently close all stores and cease online trading
- …at risk of collapse and jeopardizing 2,300 jobs
- UK: Primark
- …thanks NHS workers with 74,000 care package initiative
- …seeking 400,000sq ft of warehouse space to store surplus stock
- UK: Quiz resumes online trading and has ‘significantly reduced the number of employees working’
- UK: River Island resumes online trading after making safety changes at warehouse
- UK: Ted Baker launches online pop-up store and donates proceeds to charity
- Footwear retailing
- UK: Office up for sale as it seeks funding amid coronavirus crisis
- UK: LK Bennet extends administration process for another year
News Analysis – Multi-sector
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- UK: Halfords
- …gives ownership of 11 Cycle Republic stores to Pure Electric
- …anticipates positive full year profits despite COVID-19
- UK: M&S
- …online clothing and home warehouse to dispatch food boxes instead
- …backs British farmers in new campaign
- Department stores
- UK: Debenhams is to shut five stores in Hammerson shopping centres
- UK: Fenwick reopens website with ‘edited offer’
- UK: John Lewis
- …prepare store reopenings as lockdown eases
- …John Lewis Partnership fears worst-case scenario will lead to 35% decline for John Lewis
- …launches virtual appointment and personal styling services
- …opens textile factory to produce 8,000 surgical gowns
- UK: Selfridges reopening of its food hall comes with ‘stringent’ social distancing measures
News Analysis – Household Goods
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- DIY retailing
- UK: B&Q
- …confirms reopening of 155 UK stores
- …to open stores on a trial basis
- …offers customers ‘essential products’ as it reopens website
- UK: Homebase
- …emerges from lockdown and opens all its stores
- …to open a further 50 stores after ‘successful trial’
- UK: Wickes and Toolstation stores operate as ‘mini warehouses’
- Electrical retailing
- UK: Dixons Carphone warns that sales shifted online won’t be returning to brick and mortars
- Furniture retailing
- UK: DFS is in ‘advanced discussions’ with lenders for additional financing
- UK: IKEA acquires AR start-up in a bid to encourage big-ticket purchases despite store closures
- Homewares retailing
- UK: Dunelm launches a phased reopening of online operations
- UK: Gordon Brothers rescues Laura Ashley from administration
- UK: 90 jobs to be cut as Cath Kidston closes all UK stores
News Analysis – Other Retail
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- Health & beauty retailing
- UK: The Perfume Shop uses video technology to stay in touch with customers
- Books and stationery retailing
- UK: Card Factory delivers online sales growth of 267.5% since the lock-down
News Analysis – Online
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- UK: Amazon to roll out ‘super fast’ delivery service
- UK: Asos ramps up use of augmented reality to view products
- UK: Atterley launches crowdfunding campaign following a 200% y-o-y increase in sales
- UK: ebay teams up with NHS to help provide PPE to frontline workers
- UK: Gear4Music reports 9% rise in sales amid COVID-19 lockdown
- UK: Missguided launches ‘Heroes’ t-shirts and donates 100% of proceeds to charity
- UK: Shopping habits ‘more normal’ says Ocado
- UK: The Hut Group donates 25 tonnes of PPE to Greater Manchester NHS
- Shopping centres
- UK: Hammerson’s £400m retail park disposal deal collapses
News Analysis – Economy
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- UK: March sees retail sales drop 3.5%
- UK: March retail sales fall 2.3%
- UK: Government increases loan scheme as lockdown is extended for a further 3 weeks
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