UK Electricals Sector Report summary
December 2023
Period covered: Period covered: 29 October – 25 November 2023
3 minute read
Note: This report summary is one or two months behind the current month as standard reporting practice. The content is indicative only and incomplete with certain data undisclosed. Become a member to access this data or take out a free 30 day membership trial now.
Electricals sales
Electricals sales fell by 00% YoY in November, according to the Retail Economics Retail Sales Index (value, non-seasonally adjusted) against a 00% decline a year ago.
Despite a raft of Black Friday discounts, the usual boost to sales seen around the promotional event failed to materialise as consumers kept a firm grip on their household budgets.
Demand weak
Electricals has fallen out of cyclical demand following the flurry of pandemic spending on home equipment and cost-of-living induced spending towards energy efficient items a year ago when energy prices surged.
This has brought 30 consecutive months of decline and pushed the category to the bottom of growth rankings in November.
Large electricals including TVs have been at the heart of cut back intentions, particularly after a modest World Cup boost last year, although smaller items such as wearable technology have remained popular.
Golden quarter
Black Friday remained a predominately online event, with retailers offering extended discounts throughout the trading period to entice consumers to spend.
Adobe reported that shoppers spent £1.04bn online on Black Friday which was a 4.1% rise on the previous year.
Notably, Google trends data shows that searches for “Black Friday deals” was unchanged from a year ago, which is the first time in recent years engagement in the event hasn’t fallen.
This in part reflects the recent improvement in economic conditions and deep discounts offering consumers the opportunity to stretch their budgets further.
Barclaycard payments showed that while overall transaction volumes were up on last year’s level in the lead up to the discounting event, they fell marginally on Black Friday (xx% YoY), as a result of the extended discounting.
xx of the 80 retailers polled on 16th November said their results that week were so far ‘below expectations’ (IMRG).
Traditional tech categories were the hardest hit amid muted demand and limited innovation. Sales of TVs fell by xx% YoY (GfK).
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Increased optimism to make large purchases
Source: GfK
