UK Electricals Sector Report summary
February 2022
Period covered: Period covered: 02 January – 29 January 2022
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 00% YoY in January, and were down 0.1% compared to the same period in 2019 pre-pandemic, according to the Retail Economics Retail Sales Index.
Annual distortions
Retail sales performance faced distortions in January with comparisons against last’s year’s lockdown, when electricals sales growth jumped 00%.
A year ago, the emergence of a newly detected covid-19 variant saw the country enter its third national lockdown on 5th January causing anxiety levels to rise.
At the time, fears around the coronavirus reached their highest level since the start of the pandemic. Over eight in 10 viewed the coronavirus as either a ‘high’ or ‘very high’ threat to public health.
Despite the closure of stores, Electricals outperformed all other Non-Food categories, supported by high online penetration levels, the return of home schooling and ‘second round’ purchasing of home comforts.
Cost of living fears
As we headed into 2022 there was no such boost. Concerns over the coronavirus waned, much like demand within the Electricals category. Electrical online sales growth recorded a double-digit decline, albeit against tough comparisons a year ago.
To a certain extent, consumers fears around the virus were replaced with growing concerns about the cost of living crisis as inflation hit a 30-year high (5.5% CPI in January). It is forecast to rise to over 00% by the spring.
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Online Non-Food sales decline
Source: ONS
