As Brits took advantage of New Year sales, shopping centre like-for-like sales rose 4.3% year-on-year across the seven week period to 13 February.
According to Hammerson’s Retail Tracker, for the week ended 13 February 2016 alone, like-for-like sales increased 1.8%, with categories such as jewellery (+6%) and health & beauty (+3.2%) boosted by a Valentine‘s Day rush. Following difficult trading conditions for fashion retailers towards the end of last year, mixed fashion also saw an uplift of 4.9%.
Shoppers also headed out of town to take advantage of the sales, with Hammerson‘s retail park portfolio continuing to welcome increased numbers of visitors, reporting a 4.2% uplift for the week ended 13 February 2016.
“It‘s been a fantastic start to the year, with sales up 4.2% as consumer sentiment continues to strengthen across the UK,” commented CEO David Atkins. “Valentine‘s Day is traditionally a key date in the retail calendar and it‘s great to see from our data that shoppers are feeling confident enough to splash out on higher ticket items, such as jewellery and luxury watches. Looking ahead, we anticipate that this trend in consumer confidence will continue.”
