Report Summary

Period covered: 31 October – 27 November 2021

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.

Homewares Sales

Homewares sales fell 0.00% YoY in November, but remained 0.00% above 2019’s equivalent pre-pandemic levels, according to the Retail Economics Retail Sales Index.

Home-related categories are under pressure from tough annual comparisons, as consumers splashed out on improvements to their living environment during lockdown. A year on, and consumer spending priorities have shifted to other areas.

Online Household Goods sales fell by 0.00% YoY in November, against tough comparatives from 2020, when lockdown restrictions boosted e-commerce sales.

Ominous Omicron

There is no doubt that Omicron will stunt retail sales over the December period. However, its significance will vary widely by sector, online maturity and price point.

Retail Economics research shows that the majority of consumers (0.00%) are in some way concerned about the new variant, with 0.00% ‘very concerned’ (Fig.2).

However, only 0.00% of consumers said they would avoid physical shops as much as possible in December due to Omicron – considerably lower than 64% who said they would avoid physical shopping locations in December 2020.

Housing market outlook

House prices continue to rise strongly despite the end of the stamp duty holiday. UK house prices rose by 0.00% YoY in November (Halifax).

An estimated 0.00 UK residential transactions completed in November, 0.00% lower than November 2020, as transaction volumes return to ‘normal’ seasonal levels (Fig 1).

The outlook remains somewhat uncertain, but Retail Economics expects housing market activity to…

Take out a FREE 30 day membership trial to read the full report.

Q. How concerned are you about the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron?