UK retailers suffer worst September on record - BRC

 

FILE PHOTO: Visitors and shoppers walk along Sheep street in the centre of Stratford-upon-Avon, Britain, March 22, 2019. Picture taken March 22, 2019. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

 

LONDON (Reuters) - British retailers endured their worst September since at least the mid-1990s as people instead spent money on entertainment, according to surveys that painted a muted picture of household demand ahead of Brexit.

 

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said total retail sales values declined 1.3% in September compared with the same month last year.

 

Average growth over the last 12 months slowed to 0.2%, the weakest rate since the BRC began its records in 1995.

 

A separate survey published on Monday by payment card company Barclaycard showed broader consumer spending — which includes retail sales — rose 1.6% in annual terms in September.

 

While official data retail data have painted a healthier picture of consumer demand, surveys like the BRC’s have suggested household spending — one of the few drivers of economic growth this year — may be starting to wane.

 

The Barclaycard survey showed 41% of Britons were “actively pessimistic” about their ability to spend on discretionary items, up five percentage points from August.

 

“With four months of negative sales growth since March, the ongoing political gridlock surrounding Brexit is harming both consumers and retailers,” BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said.

 

The BRC survey showed spending on non-food items fell sharply as spending on essentials rose. Online sales of non-food items were the worst ever recorded.

 

By contrast, the Barclaycard report showed spending on entertainment — which includes cinema, sports and theatre tickets, increased by 4.7% in annual terms in September.

 

It also showed strong growth in digital services such as Netflix (NFLX.O), Spotify (SPOT.N) and Amazon Prime (AMZN.O) but confidence in the economy remained uncertain and one in eight consumers were stockpiling Christmas food and drink in the run-up to Brexit.

 

Both surveys had been due to be published on Tuesday but the BRC brought forward publication and Barclaycard followed suit.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-10-07

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      High street spending down , fears of a No deal brexit , not many shops left to close .

     Chaos expected soon, food shortages , medical supplies , etc.

     Oct 31 deadline welcome , entre la ditch ..

 

 

Edited October 7, 20196 yr by elliss

Troll post removed.

 

Nothing to do with Brexit...

11 hours ago, elliss said:

 

      High street spending down , fears of a No deal brexit , not many shops left to close .

     Chaos expected soon, food shortages , medical supplies , etc.

     Oct 31 deadline welcome , entre la ditch ..

 

 

Grow up for heaven's sake.

And amazingly high street landlords still increasing rents.

39 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

Grow up for heaven's sake.

Which bit was wrong ? 

12 hours ago, elliss said:

 

      High street spending down , fears of a No deal brexit , not many shops left to close .

     Chaos expected soon, food shortages , medical supplies , etc.

     Oct 31 deadline welcome , entre la ditch ..

 

 

 

It is not all bad news. Something they don't mention, or if they did I missed it, is that some more enlightened (younger) people are more aware of their impact on the environment and actively try to reduce their consumer spending. Actually, a transition to a circular economy and a dramatic reduction in consumer spending is exactly what this planet needs!

Retail sales fell by 1.3% whilst spend on entertainment increased by 4.7%.

 

Suggests people didn't see many bargains, new items they wanted, and perhaps too early for Christmas shopping. 

 

But were spending MORE on entertainment. Probably trying to take their mind of the <deleted> heap that used to be parliament, the nutters blocking London and demonstrating before we all become extinct and the mostly rubbish TV these days!

8 minutes ago, tyga said:

It is not all bad news. Something they don't mention, or if they did I missed it, is that some more enlightened (younger) people are more aware of their impact on the environment and actively try to reduce their consumer spending. Actually, a transition to a circular economy and a dramatic reduction in consumer spending is exactly what this planet needs!

 

Yeah, let's all live in wigwams, wear beads, hug trees and adopt the Amish style simple life.

 

Enlightenment doesn't come with youth. It comes with education, information and experience which hopefully enables knowledge to convert to wisdom.

 

 

17 minutes ago, Syduan said:

 

 

Aye, sounds like the average Scottish rugby or soccer supporter these days!

Oh NO,....... the most bad month will come after BREXIT....... month for month ????

3 hours ago, cmsally said:

And amazingly high street landlords still increasing rents.

Parking problems are making life more difficult.

 

People are also buying on line and getting their purchases delivered to their door.

Retail is experiencing a slow and painful demise but is not completely related to Brexit.  In fact I think the Brexit effect is fairly minimal.  The rise of on-line shopping is the main culprit and it is actually "the High Street" that is suffering rather than the businesses who have embraced the on-line revolution.  No matter what happens with Brexit this will continue as we all change the way we shop.

 

With a no deal Brexit prices will rise but that will affect all purchases whether made in store or on line.

No wonder, the country is in a shambles

5 hours ago, tyga said:

It is not all bad news. Something they don't mention, or if they did I missed it, is that some more enlightened (younger) people are more aware of their impact on the environment and actively try to reduce their consumer spending. Actually, a transition to a circular economy and a dramatic reduction in consumer spending is exactly what this planet needs!

Right on,I didn,t get a wink of sleep last night because I was so worried about my carbon footprint.

8 minutes ago, kingdong said:

Right on,I didn,t get a wink of sleep last night because I was so worried about my carbon footprint.

I was more concerned about my ingrowing toenail.

 
      High street spending down , fears of a No deal brexit , not many shops left to close .
     Chaos expected soon, food shortages , medical supplies , etc.
     Oct 31 deadline welcome , entre la ditch ..
 
 

Nothing to do with Brexit in the least blame online shopping,parking charges in town through the roof,and over zelous wardens that will fine you if your 5 minutes over.

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14 minutes ago, rhyddid said:

Brexit its coming, worst a no deal Brexit its coming and soon all business will enjoy it, as we start to see already !

Well done BS BJ !

Right on,Boris has done more in 4 weeks than remainer  may did in 3 years.diamond geezer.

A post violating Fair Use Policy removed along with reply.  

 

22 hours ago, cmsally said:

And amazingly high street landlords still increasing rents.

They will always do there best to, but they actually have a duty to their shareholders to get the best return on their investments and probably actually getting less with most of the big retailer claiming poverty and trying to renegotiate their contracts.

 

You only have to look at our high streets to see who went out of business in the last few years as the shops have not been re let.

 

Names like: Debenhams, House of Fraser, BHS, Maplins, The Money Shop, Bathstore, Office Outlet, Patisserie Valerie, HMV, Pound World, 99p Store, Children's World, Toy's R Us, and now Thomas Cook, to name just a few of the thousands of names that adorn vacant proprieties across the UK, If you want to invest in the UK I would suggest companies like VPS (Vacant Property Services). 

 

Its just that the councills have killed the high street who wants to pay 10 pounds to park up for the day ,to go shopping ,that along with online shopping ,(even we had started doing it 13 years ago before we came here) nothing will ever change ,the retailers must to survive .

8 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

Its just that the councills have killed the high street who wants to pay 10 pounds to park up for the day ,to go shopping ,that along with online shopping ,(even we had started doing it 13 years ago before we came here) nothing will ever change ,the retailers must to survive .

Still many shops where there is plenty of free parking closed down so your post kind of makes little sense. on line purchasing is definitely the major factor, and Brexit has has some effect particularly with the very weak pound. but the real crunch will happen after Brexit ... if it ever happens. 

8 hours ago, Basil B said:

They will always do there best to, but they actually have a duty to their shareholders to get the best return on their investments and probably actually getting less with most of the big retailer claiming poverty and trying to renegotiate their contracts.

 

You only have to look at our high streets to see who went out of business in the last few years as the shops have not been re let.

 

Names like: Debenhams, House of Fraser, BHS, Maplins, The Money Shop, Bathstore, Office Outlet, Patisserie Valerie, HMV, Pound World, 99p Store, Children's World, Toy's R Us, and now Thomas Cook, to name just a few of the thousands of names that adorn vacant proprieties across the UK, If you want to invest in the UK I would suggest companies like VPS (Vacant Property Services). 

 

Happy that a few hours after quoting the above I have been proved wrong.

 

15 hours ago, Basil B said:

Still many shops where there is plenty of free parking closed down so your post kind of makes little sense. on line purchasing is definitely the major factor, and Brexit has has some effect particularly with the very weak pound. but the real crunch will happen after Brexit ... if it ever happens. 

In my old home town there was no free parking anywhere near shops ,apart from the local corner shop ,minimum parking charge 4 pounds for half an hour in town .Now where my daughter lives its a small country town ,parking about one pound for 2 hours ,not one shop closed in the high street . and if they do ,someone else takes it over quite quickly .

Edited October 10, 20196 yr by bert bloggs

£4 for half an hour? I am in the midlands and probably Brum is the most expensive at £3 an hour but still often can find a cheaper parking option, but there again where you have to pay for parking there seems to be less empty or charity shops than where there is free parking or retail parks.

 

21 hours ago, Basil B said:

£4 for half an hour? I am in the midlands and probably Brum is the most expensive at £3 an hour but still often can find a cheaper parking option, but there again where you have to pay for parking there seems to be less empty or charity shops than where there is free parking or retail parks.

 

Sorry i meant 1 hour ,not half you can park for 1 and half hours for i think now 6 pounds ,a few charity shops in the high street but most shops in the indoor shopping centre .