New research from Worldpay has found that retailers are split when it comes to the long term impact of Brexit on sales figures.
Following the most recent ONS data which put the overall volume of retail sales up by 1.6 per cent over the past three months, Worldpay has found that 46 per cent of retailers expected a drop in consumer spending in the next 12 months.
Meanwhile, 26 per cent thought trading conditions would remain unchanged and 27 per cent remained undecided.
Worldpay‘s research also found that London-based retailers were more than twice as likely to believe conditions will become more challenging in the coming 12 months compared to those across the rest of the UK.
Worldpay added that because of the uncertainty surrounding the Brexit vote, 44 per cent of retailers were reconsidering planned investments in new technologies and marketing channels to meet evolving consumer shopping habits – effectively putting their long term prospects at risk.
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“The businesses that will thrive in the post-vote environment will not be those that batten down the hatches, but those that invest and innovate to deliver the type of technology driven experience and service their customers are demanding,” Worldpay UK managing director Dave Hobday said.
According to Worldpay‘s research, businesses selling through online channels were far more confident about post-Brexit trading conditions than those with only a bricks and mortar presence.
The research also suggested that interest from overseas shoppers taking advantage of currency fluctuations boosted online spending from non-UK cards, which increased by 5.3 per cent in the month after the EU referendum.
“Recent high street data suggests the UK retail economy remains buoyant following the Brexit vote, and there are clear opportunities for businesses to thrive in post-referendum environment,” Hobday said.
“In particular, multichannel strategies which allow retailers to broaden their customer base and appeal to non-UK shoppers will enable businesses to capitalise fully on the current competitiveness of UK products internationally.”
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