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UK retail sales values fell 2.6% on a like-for-like basis, from November 2007, when they had risen 1.2%. Total sales were lower than a year ago, as in October. This was the first time since the survey began in January 1995 that sales declined for two consecutive months.

Food and drink was the only sector to show sales up on a year ago. Despite extensive heavy discounting, clothing and footwear, furniture and big-ticket homewares fell further below year-earlier levels.

Discounts and promotions continued but often failed to tempt customers unless they perceived value or really needed the product.

Non-food non-store sales in November were 9.5% higher than a year ago. As with store sales, this was worse than in October, when sales were 16.6% up on a year ago.  BRC

UK retail sales values fell 2.2% on a like-for-like basis, from October 2007, when they had risen 1.0%. Total sales were lower than a year ago for the first time since April 2005.

As in previous months, food and drink was the only sector to show sales significantly up on a year ago. Clothing and footwear remained poor and often discount-driven, despite colder and much wetter weather than last October. Furniture and homewares fell further below year-earlier levels, despite further discounts and promotions.

Discounts and promotions continued but often failed to tempt customers unless they perceived value or the purchases filled a need.

Non-food non-store sales in October were 16.6% higher than year ago. Online sales fell on the days after the banking crisis hit, as consumers were anxious about their financial outlook.

The internet properties of the UK’s top 100 high street retailers received 19.3% more visits during July than the 100 largest online-only retailers, says a new Hitwise report. And it’s the fashion sector that’s fuelling the high street’s growth online…

The speed with which the high street is catching up with and overtaking pure play internet specialists is gathering pace. In July, the number of visits to the websites of the one hundred largest online high street retailers was 19.3% higher than the number of visits to the one hundred largest pure play retailers, says a new Hitwise report ‘Can retailers have a happy Christmas during the credit crunch?’

“High street retailers overtook their online only counterparts for the first time during December 2006, but quickly fell behind again for most of 2007,” explained Robin Goad, Hitwise UK’s research director. “However, when the high street overtook again last Christmas, the gap was even greater than before and during 2008 the online-only retailers only managed to edge ahead during February.”

“Given the 2.6% year-on-year decline in actual physical visits to retailers reported by Experian Footfall for July, it looks like high street retailers will be more reliant than ever on their online operations this Christmas,” Goad noted.

Online fashion retailing is now particularly dominated by major high street brands, which accounted for seven of the top ten websites in the category during June, says the report. “The growth of the online fashion industry has been one of the main contributors to the increasing market share of high street retailers online,” says Robin Goad.

“However, there are exceptions to the rule. ASOS was the second most visited website in our ‘Shopping and Classifieds — Apparel and Accessories’ category in July 2008. UK Internet traffic to online-only fashion retailers has more than doubled over the last 12 months.”

In addition to major high street brands such as Next, Top Shop and River Island, the top 10 online fashion retailers in June also included two other remote shopping specialists, M and M Direct and Boden.

Some 62% of shoppers believe shopping online will save them money during the credit crunch according to a poll conducted by discount etailer M&M Direct.

Some 61% of the 1,000 people polled by M&M Direct and Voxpopuk.com, said that they would now be actively looking for bargains while 56% said they would save money by not spending so much on luxury items.

45% of respondents said that bargains were easier to come by online.

When asked if the credit crunch would affect their broader spending habits, 48% of respondents said no, while 54% said that it would not affect their decision to purchase cars, holidays or other large expensive items.

M&M Direct chief executive Steve Robinson said: “The survey shows that the UK consumer is in the process of becoming savvier when it comes to spending money. They want to continue to shop for what they want, but realise they can find bargains online and cut back in key areas to help combat the effects of the credit crunch.”

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