Report Summary

Period covered: 02 March – 05 April 2025

3 minute read

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.

Clothing & Footwear Sales

Clothing sales rose by xx% YoY, while Footwear sales rose xx% YoY in March, according to the Retail Economics Retail Sales Index (value, non-seasonally adjusted). 

Inflation rose by xx% YoY (ONS) as retailers returned to full price selling as new season lines came in.

Key sales drivers

Clothing & Footwear sales’ performance in March reflects several upside (+) and downside (-) factors including:

• Improved weather(+): Met Office weather summaries reported the third sunniest March on record, with the month warmer and drier than normal. Persistent high pressure brought settled conditions for most of the month, with bright but cool temperatures in the south and milder temperatures and some showers in the north. The improved weather was particularly helpful for clothing and footwear as new season lines were launched and footfall increased. 
• Mother’s Day (+): Women’s handbags was among the categories to see increases on search volumes as shoppers purchased gifts for Mother’s Day. 
• Late Easter (-): Easter fell in March in 2024 and April in 2025, creating a challenging comparative for the March trading period this year. However, sales across several categories performed unexpectedly well, with consumers spending more than expected.

Signs of optimism

• While the trading environment remains complex, March brought signs of optimism as spring weather and lengthening evenings encouraged shoppers out.
• Footfall rose xx% year on year across all UK retail destinations. Footfall is now just xx% lower than 2019 levels. The weekday gap between pre-and post-pandemic has narrowed to xx%, as more employers require a return to the office.
• Inflation stood at xx% in March, down from xx% the previous month, and consumer confidence increased by one point to -xx.

Economic outlook

GDP grew an estimated xx% in February, with growth in all main sectors and marking the fastest monthly pace since March 2024.

The increase was five times larger than the xx% that a poll of City economists had forecast.

The Bank of England held interest rates at xx% after February’s cut, with a cut expected in May.

However, following Trump’s tariffs, and with the labour market easing, the IMF cut its growth forecast for the UK economy in 2025 from xx% to xx%. It also said that the Bank of England could afford to lower interest rates three more times this year.

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Clothing and Footwear year-on-year growth