// Retail sales expected to grow by 12% during the Aug 16 to Sept 19 back-to-school period compared to 2019
// Year-on-year, sales are expected to grow by 6.7% compared with 2020.
UK retailers are gearing up for a strong back-to-school shopping season in the coming weeks as “brick and mortar browsing” regains momentum, research suggests.
Retail sales, excluding petrol, are expected to grow by 12 per cent during the August 16 to September 19 back-to-school period, compared with the same period in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Year-on-year, sales are expected to grow by 6.7 per cent compared with 2020.
READ MORE: Formalwear & beauty boosts retail sales but growth slows
The projections were made by Mastercard SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment.
Fashion will be a big “winner” in the back-to-school shopping sprees, with clothing sales expected by Mastercard to increase by 18.7 per cent compared with the same time last year.
The home improvements trend is also set to continue, with furniture sales forecast to increase 11 per cent year-on-year as people update their living and home office spaces.
Electronics sales are also forecast to increase by 8.9 per cent, when comparing mid-August to mid-September 2021 with a year earlier.
“This year, the broader reopening of the high street brings an exciting wave of optimism as children prepare for what is hopefully an uninterrupted school year,” said Kelly Devine, divisional president, Mastercard UK & Ireland.
“This back-to-school season will be defined by choice as online sales remain robust and brick and mortar browsing regains momentum as shoppers seek to make up for lost time.”
Separate research by MoneySuperMarket found that more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of parents have worried about the cost of putting their children through school – and nearly a fifth (17 per cent) have felt under pressure to buy expensive technology.
with PA Wires
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
