• Huw Phillips, Director of Sales at Deko


• 12.10.2021 12:30 pm
#retailing

“The slowing of sales throughout September reflects a challenging retail environment borne from issues like fuel and labour shortages. Overall sales performance was the weakest since January, and although total sales increased by 0.6% against 2020 levels, this marks a fall compared with the average of 3.1% growth throughout the past three months.  

More than ever, retailers will be looking to the peak season to kickstart their post-pandemic recovery. Although online non-food sales decreased in the month, they are still notably higher than pre-pandemic levels. It is clear that the trend towards e-commerce that was accelerated by COVID-19 is here to stay, and as winter approaches, retailers need support in optimising their online offering to take full advantage of this consumer behaviour.  

Businesses of all sectors and sizes should consider the opportunities provided by technology like retail finance options to help maximise sales. These will be particularly helpful in converting larger baskets into successful purchases, which is more important than ever following news from the BRC-KPMG that higher price items such as homeware and furniture have been hit hard by the slow in sales activity.”