BRC news and archive

Number of empty stores in UK soars in first quarter of 2021

The number of empty stores across the UK has soared in the first quarter of 2021, new data reveals. The overall GB vacancy rate increased to 14.1 percent in the first three months of the year, from 13.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the latest BRC-LDC Vacancy Monitor. The figure is 1.9 percentage points higher than in the...

3 May 2021

Retail

Shoppers flock to stores as retailers in England and Wales reopen

Shoppers in the UK flocked to stores on Monday as non-essential retailers in England and Wales reopened after months of lockdown. Up until 10am, footfall across all UK destinations increased 218.2 percent week-on-week. Breaking that down by locations, footfall in shopping centres saw the biggest improvement, up 339.7 percent, while high streets...

12 Apr 2021

Retail

Retail sales slightly recover in February but fashion sales halve

UK retail sales volumes recovered slightly in February ahead of the easing of lockdowns restrictions, but fashion sales halved, new data reveals. Overall retail sales volumes partly recovered with an increase of 2.1 percent in February compared with the 8.2 percent fall seen in the previous month. That meant sales were still down by 3.7 percent...

26 Mar 2021

Retail

55 UK retailers pledge to improve diversity and inclusion following BRC report

Fifty-five UK retailers have pledged to take “decisive action to improve diversity practices across the retail industry” after signing up to a diversity and inclusion (D&I) charter led by the British Retail Consortium (BRC). By signing the charter, the retailers commit to appointing diversity and inclusion executives; improving recruitment...

25 Mar 2021

Retail

UK retail lost 67,000 jobs in second wave of pandemic

The number of retail jobs in the UK dropped by 67,000 in the last three months of 2020 during the second wave of the pandemic, new data reveals. That brought the country’s total number of retail jobs to 3.09 million at the end of last year, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Helen Dickinson, the chief...

23 Mar 2021

Retail

Non-essential stores in England set to reopen in April

Non-essential retailers in England will reopen in April as part of the country’s “cautious” plan to exit lockdown, prime minister Boris Johnson announced Monday afternoon. Speaking to MPs at the House of Commons, Johnson set out a four-step plan to ease lockdown restrictions in the coming months. In the first stage, students will return to...

22 Feb 2021

Retail

Lockdowns cost UK non-food retailers 22 billion pounds - BRC

The UK’s three lockdowns have cost non-food retailers an estimated 22 billion pounds in lost sales, according to new data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The pandemic forced non-essential retailers to close for extended periods throughout 2020 and now into 2021, with many struggling to offset losses through online channels, and hopes...

11 Feb 2021

Retail

UK store vacancy rate continues to rise in Q4

The UK’s shop vacancy rate rose to 13.7 percent in Q4, from 13.2 percent in Q3 amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, marking the tenth consecutive quarter of climbing rates. That increase was experienced across all locations, with shopping centres hit hardest, increasing to 17.1 percent from 16.3 percent in Q3, according to the BRC-LDC vacancy...

29 Jan 2021

Retail

UK retail sales hit record low in 2020

UK retail sales hit a record 25-year low in 2020 during a year plagued by prolonged store closures. For the whole year, total sales fell 0.3 percent compared with 2019, a record low since records began in 1995, according to the latest BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor. That drop was driven by non-food items, as categories such as fashion were hit...

13 Jan 2021

Retail

UK footfall plummeted 43 percent in 2020

Total year-on-year footfall in the UK plummeted by 43.4 percent in 2020 due to lockdowns enforced to slow the spread of Covid-19. In the important “Golden quarter”, from October and December, footfall fell by almost half (48.4 percent) compared to the same period in 2019, according to the BRC-Shoppertrak footfall monitor. In December, footfall...

8 Jan 2021

Retail

Non-essential stores close in England and Scotland amid new lockdowns

All non-essential retailers in England and Scotland have closed once again amid new, stricter lockdown measures across both countries. Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced Monday that, as of midnight, all non-essential stores would close, people should remain at home and schools would close until February. A few hours later, prime...

5 Jan 2021

Retail

UK fashion sales dive in November

The UK saw a sharp fall in the sales volume of clothing in November compared to the month before, as lockdowns across the four nations hindered retailers' hopes for a pre-Christmas sales rebound. Clothing retailers were the worst-hit category, with a monthly fall of 19 percent, according to the latest figures from the Office for National...

18 Dec 2020