UK shop prices rise but fashion price tags stay low

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 28, 2018

The headlines may have been all about UK shop prices edging up on Wednesday as the British Retail Consortium and Nielsen released their latest monthly report, but the picture for the fashion sector was bleak.

Overall, prices rose 0.1% in November, which was only the third month of shop price rises in five years, the the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index showed.

But the rise was because of food inflation that accelerated to 1.6% this month from 1.3% in October on the back of global cereal price rises.

The index also highlighted significant price falls in certain categories and fashion was among them. And the data didn’t even take Black Friday discounts into account as the event happened after the cut-off point for the month’s figures to be collated.

The report underlined what has been a difficult season for UK fashion retailers and brands as the ‘wrong’ weather and price-price-conscious consumers have seen stores resorting to all-season markdowns, with Black Friday’s discounts at the end of the month being even deeper.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “As we approach the Christmas season, the good news for consumers is that prices have remained almost unchanged in November. Falls in the price of clothes and electrical goods will be a welcome bonus as the public prepare to do their Christmas present shopping.”

But she added: “However, the low inflation presents a more difficult picture for retailers who are facing weak consumer demand and uncertainty surrounding Brexit. If the government wishes to rebuild business confidence, they must work fast to ensure we get a transition period that gives retailers and their suppliers time to adapt to business outside the EU.”