UK fashion prices have fallen further since EU exit day

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 26, 2020

UK fashion pricing has been under pressure during February as the temporary bounce seen during January appears to have ended and consumers perhaps need extra inducements to part with their cash.

A report from LoveTheSales.com showed that British brands have dropped their prices by 12% since January 31 (the day the country left the EU), while European brands have increased theirs by 9%.

The BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index also showed that February shop prices have fallen with non-food prices dropping at their highest rate since May 2018.

Non-food prices dropped 1.9% year-on-year, a bigger fall than the 1.5% of traditional clearance month January and worse than the 12-month 1.2% decline. 

The Lovethesales report, based on analysis of a million branded apparel items selling at full price and markdown, also showed that the trend for prices to fall is the opposite of what usually happens in February. Last year, February prices rose 5% and the year before 4%.

The contrast between UK and European brands was also seen from the fact that UK brands were more likely to be cutting prices with 15% more discounted products, while the number of European branded products marked down contracted by 22%.

LovetheSales’ co-founder Stuart McClure said the reasons behind this could be that brands are responding to low consumer confidence, but also that they want to shift stock and boost their cash flows during the Brexit transition period.