Table of Contents
Analyst Comment – The Impact of COVID-19 on Shopping Behaviour
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- Overview
- Nearly half are still concerned about risk of infection
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- Figure 1: Those worried about the risk of being exposed to the coronavirus, April-August 2020
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- Figure 2: Those worried about the risk of being exposed to COVID-19, by age group, April – August 2020
- Most remain uncomfortable to resume ‘normal’ activities
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- Figure 3: Those claiming to feel uncomfortable doing the following activities, 7-14 August 2020
- Shift to online is a lasting change
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- Figure 4: Those claiming to Limiting the time spent in-store, April-August 2020
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- Figure 5: Those claiming to have increased the amount of shopping they do online, April-August 2020
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- Figure 6: Those claiming to have increased the amount of shopping they do online, by age, April-August 2020
- The importance of non-cash payments
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- Figure 7: Those claiming to be trying to avoid using cash where possible, April-August 2020
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- Figure 8: Those claiming to be trying to avoid using cash where possible, by age group, April-August 2020
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- Figure 9: Those claiming to be using click & collect more, April-August 2020
- Opportunities for retailers resulting from COVID-19
- Broader use of technology
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- Figure 10: Virtual and augmented reality used in retail, 2020
- Intensifying the use of robotics
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- Figure 11: Amazon’s use of robots for disinfection of warehouses and food stores, 2020
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- Figure 12: Zalando’s use of robots in warehouses, in Germany, 2020
- Virtual reality platforms
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- Figure 13: Virtual reality training platform by 3F Lab in Italy, 2020
- Consumers continue to cut down on discretionary spending
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- Figure 14: Those claiming to be cutting down on non-essential spending, April-August 2020
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- Figure 15: Those planning to spend more in the following sectors, May-August 2020
UK Retail Sales
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- Key points
- Retail sales
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- Figure 16: Retail sales trends, January 2019 – July 2020
- BRC vs ONS
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- Figure 17: UK retail sales y/y growth, BRC vs ONS, January 2018 – July 2020
- Inflation
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- Figure 18: Annual % change in the consumer price index for selected product groups, May 2019 - July 2020
- Real wages growth
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- Figure 19: Real wages growth: Wages growth vs inflation, January 2016 – July 2020
- Consumer confidence
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- Figure 20: Mintel Financial confidence tracker, January 2019 – June 2020
- Looking forward
Sector Focus – Grocery Retail
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- Retail sales recover in June
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- Figure 21: All retail sales (ex-fuel), non-seasonally adjusted, January 2019-June 2020
- Store-based online grocery sales continue to surge
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- Figure 22: Annual % change in all grocery retail sales and store-based online grocery retail sales
- Consumer still try and limit time in stores
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- Figure 23: % of consumers who are limiting time spent in store, by age group, July 16-22 2020
- Retailers develop online capabilities to meet surging demand
Launch Activity and Innovations
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- UK: Asda rolls out high-tech trolley cleaning machine
- UK: Lidl rolls out its Plus rewards and loyalty app in the UK
- UK: Selfridges launches The Bike Shop
Headlines for the Month
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- Convenience stores
- Grocers
- Other food specialists
- Clothing retailing
- Multi-sector retailing
- Department stores
- DIY retailing
- Electrical retailing
- Furniture retailing
- Homewares retailing
- Online
- Health and beauty retailing
- Sports and leisure goods retailing
- Jewellery retailing
- Pets and pet products retailing
News Analysis – Food and Drink
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- Co-ops
- UK: Co-op
- …staff wear face masks early on to encourage use
- …John Lewis extends click-and-collect partnership with the Co-op
- Convenience stores
- UK: McColl’s profits and sales slip amid ‘extraordinary change’ since the onset of COVID-19
- Grocers
- UK: Asda trials autonomous floor cleaning robots in three stores
- UK: Iceland blames widening losses on tough trading conditions and Brexit
- UK: Lidl
- …to open one new store per week over the next six months
- …opens 100th store in London
- UK: Morrisons enters meal kit market with £30 recipe boxes
- UK: Sainsbury’s is launching a virtual queuing system
- UK: Tesco trials reusable packaging in collaboration with Loop
- UK: Waitrose launches drive-through online grocery collection at 70 stores
- Other food specialists
- UK: Holland and Barrett reveal new ‘wellness’ format in Essex
- UK: Hotel Chocolat to meet profit expectations as sales rise
News Analysis – Clothing and Footwear
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- Clothing retailing
- UK: Arcadia Group up for another restructure
- UK: Baird Group set to launch CVA risking the closure of 18 stores
- UK: Boux Avenue confirms the reopening of its remaining and remodelled stores
- UK: French Connection turns to Hilco to boost liquidity
- UK: Jack Wills to launch kidswear
- UK: Joules sales down 25.3% as COVID-19 impacts performance
- UK: M&Co’s pre-pack administration deal saves 2,200 jobs and 218 stores
- UK: Mango profited from continue focus on ecommerce growing sales by 20% in H1
- UK: Moncler posts first ever operating loss due to Covid-19
- UK: Next sees online sales grow 9% in spite of fall in store sales
- UK: Primark rolls out clothing recycling scheme across UK stores
- UK: Roo’s Beach reveals own-brand clothing and accessories line
- UK: ‘Severity of Covid-19’ knocks Matalan revenue by 72%
- UK: Superdry opens new asset backed loan facility to ‘secure’ its recovery post-COVID-19
- UK: Thomas Pink closes London flagship after reopening it in June
News Analysis – Mixed Goods
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- Multi-sector retailing
- UK: Argos scraps catalogue after 47 years as consumers shift online
- UK: Halfords
- …earmarks 60 stores for closures due to COVID-19
- …launches government's bike repair vouchers
- UK: M&S
- …expands Mobile Pay Go tech to 310 stores
- …Ted Baker and Harvey Nichols brace for job cuts
- …M&S cafes joins the governments ‘eat out to help out’ scheme
- UK: Poundland
- …latest to launch range of reusable face masks
- …to launch online delivery as part of ‘biggest ever transformation’
- UK: The Original Factory Shop launches home delivery for the first time
- Department stores
- UK: Debenhams
- …to reopen 9 remaining stores in Scotland next week
- …reportedly up for sale
- UK: Harrods expects sales drop as visitor numbers plummet 95%
- UK: House of Fraser site in Richmond to be converted into retail and leisure centre
- UK: John Lewis
- …risks 1,300 jobs as it plans to close eight stores
- …unveils virtual personal shopping service
- UK: Selfridges announces 450 job cuts
News Analysis – Household Goods
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- DIY retailing
- UK: B&Q owner Kingfisher sales rise thanks to ‘strong demand’
- UK: Travis Perkins half year sales drop 20%
- Electrical retailing
- UK: Dixons Carphone
- …full-year profits drop due to poor performance from its mobile division
- …to make 800 redundancies as it overhauls in-store management operations
- UK: Dyson to cut 900 jobs as consumers shift online
- Furniture retailing
- UK: DFS reports a 27% fall in sales but online soars 77% year-on-year
- UK: ScS ‘encouraged’ by reopenings as orders rise
- Homewares retailing
- UK: Dunelm sees ‘significant’ surge in online sales during lockdown
News Analysis – Online
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- UK: Asos and Next call for government action on UK worker exploitation
- UK: Dr Martens owner among investors bidding for Gymshark stake
- UK: Eve Sleep narrows losses despite sales slide
- UK: Naked Wines expects wine to surge 78% since lockdown
- UK: Ocado
- …half-year sales boosted by increased demand during lockdown
- …takes in new customers for first time in 4 months
- UK: PrettyLittleThing to launch homeware range
News Analysis – Other Retail
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- Health and beauty retailing
- UK: Boots
- …launches PhysioFast Online for customers via teleconferencing
- …to cut 4,000 roles at its head office
- UK: The Perfume shops sees boost in sales during lockdown from virtual shopping
- Books and stationery retailing
- UK: Card Factory revenues exceed expectations
- UK: Redundancies at Waterstones HQ as some stores remain shut
- Sports and leisure goods retailing
- UK: DW Sports to close retail portfolio and gym chain amid COVID-19
- UK: Frasers Group
- …hits out at business rates revaluation delay
- …announces plans for new megastore in Leicester
- UK: The Gym Group reports a loss of 178,000 members during lockdown
- Toy retailing
- UK: Hobbycraft to continue workshops and demos via Zoom as online sales drive full-year profits
- Garden centres
- UK: Dobbies & Sainsbury’s launch grocery partnership
- Jewellery retailing
- UK: Swarovski unveils digitised ‘Crystal Studio’ concept to UK
- Pets and pet products retailing
- UK: Pets at Home sees sales slip in first quarter as pet ownership increases during lockdown
- Shopping centres
- UK: Hammerson obtains £75m government support
- UK: Westfield
- …centres rental income hit by coronavirus
- …plans to turn House of Fraser site into office space approved
- UK: Regent Street owner The Crown Estate offers switch to turnover based rents
News Analysis – Economy
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- UK: June sales increase 10.6% as lockdown restrictions ease
- UK: BRC
- …June footfall falls 62.2% as non-essential stores reopen
- …footfall makes a slow recovery in July as shops begin to reopen
- UK: Face masks will become mandatory for shops in England from July 24
- UK: Retailers call for clarity on face coverings in shops
- UK: Half of shops reopened since June as consumers continue to stay at home
- UK: Retail sales return to pre-Covid levels
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