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Retail sales July 2022

ended 21. July 2022

Tomorrow morning at 07:00 the latest official retail sales data is being published. If you're an online, bricks and mortar or hybrid retailer, please answer any or all of the Qs below for the chance to feature in the local and national media tomorrow. 

  • How have sales been for you over the past 1-2 months, and why do you think this is?
  • How optimistic are you about the second half of the year in terms of sales?
  • Should the Government be doing more to support the retail sector?
  • Are inflation and the cost of living crisis hitting your sales harder than the pandemic?
  • Do rising raw material costs mean you are having to up your own prices or are you taking the hit yourself to prevent losing sales?

Any other thoughts, jot them down. As ever, please don''t write an essay. 2-3 paragraphs MAX will do it.

9 responses from the Newspage community

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Jem Young
Owner at No Forks Given Fabrications
Sales have all but died in the last month or so. We are facing the point where we can't cover our household bills, never mind business bills. We are not optimistic for the future. We are exhausted. The cost of living crisis is 100% to blame. We were incredibly successful during the pandemic. The problems began once fuel and electricity and food costs started rising. In a country as rich as ours, it is frankly a disgrace that some people cannot even afford to feed their children. The Government are bleeding us dry. They always need to do more but, alas, they never do. We are stuck between a rock and a hard place and know so many others are too.
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Gaynor Lockwood Edwards
Small business owner at Quirky Cactus
I make crochet cactuses and fancy hats. Sales have been pretty slow in the last couple of months. Pre-pandemic I was averaging £700 per craft fair, post-pandemic it was £300-400 and now it’s more like £150. Online sales are terrible, too. I believe it’s down to the cost of living crisis. People just aren’t spending on non-essential items. I’m not at all optimistic about the future of my business as it’s only going to get worse in October when the energy prices go up again. The Government needs to do something to stop the energy companies ripping us all off. I no longer offer free postage on sales over £30, which I was doing previously and I have had to put my prices up to cover the rise in the cost of yarn as it has recently gone up by 20p a ball.
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Richard Parson
Managing Director at Fudge Kitchen
We tend to buck the general retail trend and whilst our March to May sales were still down at circa 80% of pre-pandemic levels we had a great June as visitors and some tourists began to return to our High Streets. Selling fudge and confectionery in July’s heat has been our main issue but with sites in key historic centres, the airport crisis could work in our favour, keeping more Brits holidaying at home. Confectionery has an instant feel-good factor so as an affordable yet luxury treat we have high hopes for our run into the autumn and Christmas season. The Government needs to redress and restructure the way the entire commercial property sector operates. For long-term sustainability, landlords and tenants need to work together and be tied equitably in the the companies' good and lean times. Upward-only rent reviews are archaic and damaging. Formulas for turnover rents and shared structural responsibilities have to be the way forward. It will be interesting to see if average transaction values, which usually rise significantly in-store and online at Christmas, are curbed. Add to this the rising cost of freight and ultimately yes. Although we have elected to do a mix across our ranges, absorbing higher costs where we are able.
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Natalie Ormond
Owner at Smallkind
As a small online company, I was able to remain open during the pandemic and my sales weren't really impacted at all. However, orders have dropped dramatically since March when energy price rises hit the news and July is shaping up to be our worst month since we opened three years ago. I'm trying to stay optimistic about the second half of the year and am hoping the Christmas season brings in more orders as I stock sustainable toys and childrenswear. But with energy prices set to go up again in October I fear that people's budgets will get even tighter and it's the fast fashion and discount stores that will be busy rather than small ethical brands like mine. Small retail businesses desperately need the Government to address cost of living increases if we're to survive this year.
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Danni Perkins
Director at ZaZa’s Storybox
Subscriptions are the first thing to be ditched for households impacted by the cost of living crisis. We completely get that. Families are being squeezed harder than ever before but it means our small business is feeling the impact and subscriptions are a tough market to crack right now. Our sales have dropped significantly, as persuading someone to commit to something long term is extremely difficult. We have up until now absorbed rising supplier prices but how long we can do this for, I am not sure and it isn't sustainable longer term. We are adapting our product offering, with a wider range of one-off products to account for the reluctance to subscribe. We remain optimistic for the rest of the year as we react to consumer buying habits and relying heavily on word of mouth and social media to promote our business.
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Sheju John
Founder at Parakeet Books
Children's book sales are down everywhere but it's particularly hard on micropublishers like us where every penny counts. At the moment, the cost of living is hard for everyone and especially horrendous for parents. So extra money for books is bound to be tight. We would welcome a Government grant for small, social change-based companies.
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Julia Usher
Managing Director at Ashes Memorial Jewellery
As a small manufacturing and ecommerce jewellery business, we have found the past two months of trading the most challenging in our company's history. Sales in June were diabolical, with a decrease in sales of 43% and July is set to be even worse. I have been in the retail jewellery industry for 20 years and I have never been more anxious about the economic situation we currently find ourselves in. Christmas is vitally important to us as 70% off our annual turnover happens from September onwards. With further energy hikes planned, there could be retail armageddon for many small retailers this winter if action is not taken now. For our business, sales are far worse now than they were during the pandemic. We are very much in the luxury retail sector and understandably we are not at the forefront of people's minds at the moment. People simply are not spending currently on anything that is not essential. Our site traffic is up but the conversion rate is shockingly low. We are running sales and promotions to try and help bring more sales in. Team this with rising business costs and the ever-increasing gold price and we are been squeezed hard from all directions. Like many businesses we are trying to absorb these costs to try not to damage sales further. The Government is not doing nearly enough to support the retail sector. They need to act now and offer a proper support package. For example, reduce VAT to 5% like they did for the hospitality industry during the pandemic. Without immediate action from the Government, the forecast for the next six months looks immensely bleak. The High Street and many small online retailers will not survive past Christmas at this rate.
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Dr Jackie Mulligan
Founder at ShopAppy
Family businesses that line our high streets are seriously challenged right now and this comes on top of two arduous years. Whilst cafes and shops are a resilient bunch, there is a need for action to support this sector, which forms both the economic and social fabric of our towns and cities. The new PM should consider the positive impact that small businesses play not only in creating jobs and supporting other suppliers, but also in providing social interaction and services for people. These largely family businesses are facing a double whammy of rising costs at home and in their business alongside financially squeezed customers. The best thing we can all do is shop with them because any purchase from a local shop is an investment in our community as well.
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Barry Whitehouse
Owner / Tutor at The Artery
Sales during the last couple of months have been the lowest we have seen in twelve years. Online sales have dried up, sales in the shop are much quieter, and we are seeing weekly takings across both online and in-shop at levels at least 50% lower than before the pandemic. Many of our students still have not returned, and customer numbers are down around 70% each week. We are reaching the point where we can no longer cover our overheads, and wages seem like a fantasy rather than a reality. We are seeing some product prices rise almost every few months, and as we have very low margins, we have no choice but to pass the increases on. We are doing all we can to hold on in the hope things will improve, and we are so thankful for our regular customers and students who are choosing to support real life independents instead of the faceless online giants. As far as I am aware, there is no help from the government for retail. We have seen some grants were available but they were match funded. We couldn't apply as we have no money left to match. If we had the money to match, we wouldn't need the grant. It's the ultimate Catch 22. It feels like the struggling high street has been left to fend for itself. We have adapted as much as we are able to, namely physical shop, online shop, physical classes, online classes, and have pay per view class recordings. We have diversified so much, yet our sales are falling week on week. How long I have left in business is now anyone's guess. We just have to hope that more people will begin returning back to town centres and supporting their local economy.