The number of empty stores on Oxford Street has risen by nearly a fifth since the start of 2021, as pandemic-led lockdowns took a toll on the high street.
By Praseeda Nair2021-05-21T13:57:00+01:00
The reopening of non-essential stores in April saw high street sales land a heavy blow to online shopping. April’s ONS retail figures show store sales bouncing back from the ropes, but the momentum is still with e-commerce, according to business experts.
New Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that online sales took a rare 5.6% dip in April, as shops were allowed to reopen their doors. Fashion retailers enjoyed the most significant bounceback, of almost 70%. April’s retail results reveal sales values rose 43.4% year-on-year against April 2020, the first full month of Lockdown 1, and 9.9%% month-on-month over March 2021, but online sales were left reeling, falling back by -5.6% compared to March.
By Praseeda Nair2021-04-25T12:30:00+01:00
Online sales rocketed 62% this March over lockdown March 2020. What does this mean for UK independent retailers?
Despite the temptations of an imminent return to shopping in ‘real’ stores, March online sales still boomed 0.6% against February’s sales and over 60% against the first month of Lockdown 1.0 last year.
Recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) retail sales figures for March reveal the value of online sales boomed by 62% against the same month last year, which was the first-ever lockdown month.
The British Retail Consortium estimates UK retailers have lost £27bn in sales over all three lockdowns, with 67,000 retail jobs lost last year alone. 17,532 chain store outlets closed across the UK’s down-and-out high streets and retail parks. Now with more than half of the UK’s adult population having received at least one of the vaccine’s two doses, and with 21 June earmarked as the date when the UK opens up again, indus
As UK online fast-fashion retailer Asos swoops to acquire the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, and HIIT brands out of administration from retail giant Arcadia Group, industry analysts note the opportunity to grow the four brands globally and say Asos will give them the revival they need.
Get full access to all content,
just $1 for 30 days
A Message From The Editor
just-style gives you the widest apparel and textile market coverage.
Paid just-style members have unlimited access to all our exclusive content - including 21 years of archives.
I am so confident you will love complete access to our content that today I can offer you
2021 predictions for retail
Melissa Minkow, Retail Industry Lead at CI&T
2020 has been a year unlike any other. Burdened by many variations of lockdown, retailers have had to adapt quickly to deliver on such volatile customer demand. For brands traditionally bolstered by brick and mortar, e-commerce has been a vital lifeline to staying afloat.
2020’s hyper-fixated news cycle has fuelled several significant shifts in the consumer mindset – less trend-driven buying patterns, more cause-oriented purchases, and a welcoming embrace of omni-channel paths to purchase as seen by the surge in BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store). In addition to an uncertain vaccine timeline, we experienced an unpredictable US election and Brexit timeline that has a global impact. While we continue to wait longer for our online orders, for an end to the need for quarantining, and for the beginning of a more stable political environment, we are practising greater patience and acceptance in the face of ma