Health and beauty retailer Boots Q4 like-for-like retail sales dropped by 29.2% in the three months to 31 August 2020 compared to the same period a year earlier, as shoppers stayed away from the high street amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the drop was an improvement on the previous quarter, when sales plunged 48% year-on-year when stores were closed due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Online sales in Q4 were up 155%, following on from a 78% increase in the previous quarter.
Boots warned earlier this summer that it plans to axe over 4,000 jobs, mainly affecting staff at its Nottingham support office.