Tag: Easter

Easter hit channel in a bad way

Supply problems and the impact of the Easter holidays have taken some toll on the channel over the last few weeks according to analysis from Context.

The Easter break, and the double bank holiday days of Good Friday and Easter Monday, reduced trading and pushed the UK into its first decline of the year,  The same problems also had an impact on trading in Germany and Spain.

Context uses a rolling four-week average to track the response to the virus and found that the last few weeks, to 6 April, have been tougher for the channel across Western Europe.

A surge in demand for home working hardware and software had bolstered growth across the region, helping the channel to produce 10 percent growth in the week of 16 March.

BRC: Easter drove retail sales, fashion crumpled

highEaster and Mothers Day went some way to helping rescue the high street, but the winter weather kept clothes on their rails.

That’s the latest from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG, which said in their monthly survey that UK retail sales had risen by 1.9 percent on a like-for-like basis from March 2012, when they had risen 1.3 percent on the preceding year.

It said on a total basis, sales were up 3.7 percent, compared to 3.6 percent for the same time last year.

Easter, which fell in March this year as opposed to April last year, had helped the growth, however the winter weather still had a knock on effect in the fashion categories.

Online sales rose 6.6 percent compared with March 2012, when they had risen by 13.9 percent.

Helen Dickinson, Director General, British Retail Consortium, said food and homewares had done well last month as a result of Easter, while the weather also drove consumers to  buy hearty meals such as roasts and chocolates. However, as a result, fashion suffered.

She said retailers were now hoping for a boost in consumer confidence as they headed into the second quarter, praying for some sunshine to get things moving.

David McCorquodale, Head of Retail, KPMG,  agreed – claiming the early Easter this year boosted the March sales figures and food and drink sales in particular soared as people stocked up to enjoy the long weekend. He said there was “also a welcome rise in house-related spending over the Easter break”.