Comment from Adam Stewart, Marketing Director, Rakuten’s Play.com .
He writes .. You may have seen this morning that retail figures from BDO, the accountancy firm that tracks trading across UK stores, have revealed that like-for-like sales increased 3.5 per cent in September, their fastest rise this year.
Furthermore, online sales continued to grow by more than 32 per cent in September and internet sales now account for about 10-15 per cent of all sales in each category.
More key findings:
- This is the first time this year that retailers have seen an interesting increase in sales
- The rise comes after a 0.5 per cent fall in trading in August and a 2.9 per cent dip in July
- BDO is expecting retail sales to be up about 1.5-2 per cent this year
- Shops selling clothing, gifts and leisure items reported increases, but shopping for homewares was down 5.3 per cent
Comment below from the Marketing Director of Rakuten’s Play.com in response to the news.
“It’s great to see some good news for UK retailers both online and on the high street after a challenging summer where consumers’ attention was diverted from the shops towards a summer of sports, including London 2012. As we enter a fresh season shoppers are clearly looking to make up for lost time, stocking up on warm clothes and entertainment for the cold autumn evenings.
There’s no doubt that the recent burst of cold weather has encouraged more people to buy online from the comfort of their homes or to head to the warmth of high street shops, and it’s imperative that retailers make the most of this Golden Quarter in the run up to Christmas to ensure an overall successful year of sales.”
