EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.
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Silvia Rindone, EY UK&I Retail Lead comments: “November’s retail sales saw a marginal improvement of 0.2% from October, whilst year-on-year sales were also up by 1.9%
“The past few months have been tough for retailers. Subdued consumer sentiment due to ongoing economic pressures and uncertainty around the impact of the Chancellor’s autumn statement on personal finances have dampened sales at what should traditionally be the busiest period of the year.
“The November ONS data does not include Black Friday which will be covered in the December bulletin, however anecdotally, we saw considerable promotional activity leading up to and on Black Friday. The latest EY Holiday Shopping Survey found that 73% of consumers are sceptical of whether these promotions are genuinely saving them money so it will be interesting to see how this translates into sales next month, particularly for online sales volumes which saw a significant fall of 4.3% in November, the largest drop since March 2022.
“As we head into the new year, retailers will be monitoring whether to heavily discount in the Boxing Day and January sales to entice consumers back to the shops over the Christmas break. Latest EY data found that nearly half of consumers plan to wait for the festive sales, particularly for spend on clothing & accessories and technology & electronics. Over a quarter (29%) of consumers also plan to spend more this year on technology and electronics as they look to replace equipment bought during the pandemic. This could provide a welcome new year boost for retailers after what has been another challenging 12 months.”