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Editor’s Comment: It’s business as usual
Welcome to the latest edition of ERT – the first of 2023! I do hope you have all been able to begin the new year with renewed energy and optimism to help tackle whatever lies ahead.
January was a bit of a weird month. Once all the festivities are over it always goes a bit quiet while people recover and recede to take stock of what’s gone before and how the new year could be different. For many, it’s almost like hitting a reset button. For retailers, however, it’s business as usual. Perhaps the start of a massive January sale with some eye-catching promotions to help draw customers out from their post-Christmas hibernation.
Although, that could be a tall order. As I write this, the ONS has reported that retail sales unexpectedly fell by one per cent in December, which is unfortunately in stark contrast to the 0.5 per cent increase that was predicted by economists. It seems the cost-of-living crisis put a bit of a dampener on the Christmas spirit, as cautious consumers curbed their spending.
Online the proportion of sales dropped slightly too between November and December – most likely the result of postal strikes and other supply chain issues which deterred shoppers from risking gifts and other goodies not turning up in time for the big day.
But that might explain why, just a few weeks ago, the British Retail Consortium reported that footfall in the UK over the festive period was the strongest since the start of the pandemic! Retail footfall in December rose an impressive 15 per cent from a year before; more specifically, feet on the street (high streets that is) were up by 20 per cent.
So rather confusingly, one set of figures suggests a bit of confidence among consumers and the other portrays a slightly poorer outlook.
A few of the independents I’ve spoken to recently have enjoyed huge success in recent months and while they all said we should expect more ups and downs in 2023, they certainly remain in good spirits and hopeful for more stability and support as they continue to adapt to the needs of today’s savvy savers.
Elsewhere, it definitely wasn’t a quiet start to the year over the pond in Las Vegas… CES returned early in January with 115,000 people flooding through the doors to see all the latest product innovation from a whopping 3,200 exhibitors. Tech brands included some of the biggest names you can think of and ERT’s Steve May was there to take a closer look at what the TV manufacturers were shouting about and what models we might see coming to the UK this year.
Jack Cheeseman – Editor – jackcheeseman@ertonline.co.uk
View the latest edition of ERT here – or on your mobile device
