UK Homeware Sector Report | Industry Analysis

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UK Homewares Sector Report summary

March 2021

Period covered: Period covered: 31 January – 27 February 2021

Note: Reporting periods are either one or two months behind the current month as standard reporting practice. Certain figures are not shown. Take out a free 30 day subscription trial to access this data or subscribe.

Homewares retail sales rose by 0.00% year-on-year in February, value and non-seasonally adjusted, according to Retail Economics. While average weekly sales for Homewares amounted to £210m in February, according to Retail Economics.
Homewares has outperformed in recent months, with sales up by 0.00 % on a six-month rolling basis, as consumers invest to improve their living conditions while they spend more leisure and work time at home.
While some Homewares sales have been held back – such as fitted curtains, as fitters have not been visiting many homes during lockdown – shoppers in the category have continued to flock online.
The strong performance online is polarised with physical locations, which have suffered from a redistribution of spend towards online and multichannel players with strong digital propositions.
Smaller-ticket items that Homeware retailers offer do not rely on physical touch points as much as big ticket Furniture & Flooring purchases, where touch and feel remains critical for conversion.
Between lockdowns, pent up demand has seen both categories return to growth. Furniture & Flooring marginally outperforms but faces constraints from tradesmen availability and shipping delays.
The high street is suffering deep and prolonged declines in shopper numbers. This could lead to permanent scars as around 0.00% of shoppers have purchased goods online that they previously only ever considered buying in-store, according to Retail Economics research,
Footfall in February across retail destinations was at less than half the level of last year, However, retail parks (home to many big box retailers) continued to be more defensive as consumers opt for larger store formats and easy parking.
Online Household Goods sales growth accelerated further in February, rising by 171.1% year-on-year, against a 5.6% rise in the same month a year ago – a new record high.
Online sales of Household Goods accounted for 37.6% of total retail sales in February, up from the 14.7% proportion a year ago.
Homewares e-tailer Cox & Cox saw sales up by 85.4% year-on-year in its fourth quarter and sales growth of 74.5% for the full year to end-January.