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Feedback: Retail Barometer 2022
Rising To The
Challenge As we look forward to celebrating Easter in April, the King’s Coronation in May, and hopefully much else besides in 2023, for many, 2022 and all its woes seems a long time ago; and yet it was the year of rising inflation, increased mortgage repayments, increased energy and fuel costs, the outbreak of war in Ukraine - all major contributors to the costof-living crisis - rail and postal strikes, and three different Prime Ministers. So how did independent gift retailers fare in what, to say the least, was a challenging year? PG&H’s 17th unique, annual retail barometer delved into the findings of the latest survey, with the majority of retailers reporting a decent year despite the hurdles. The latest PG&H Retail Barometer revealed that 2022 was, on the whole, a surprisingly good one for gift indies, if a bit of a rollercoaster due to external factors. Some two thirds of respondents reported that business in 2022 was better or the same as in 2021. The average spend increased for 70% of respondents, who reported it had increased slightly or significantly, or had remained the same. Despite the naysayers, Christmas turned out to be a strong one for many, with 70% of respondents (compared to 90% in 2021), confirming that Christmas 2022 was better or the same as Christmas 2021. The biggest ‘positive’ was online/website expansion for those surveyed, (42%), with product diversification and staff tying for second place, and ‘shop local’ campaigns coming in at No. 3. However, on the downside, the ongoing impact of the Covid19/Omicrom variant, coupled with the cost-of-living crisis had the biggest detrimental effect. Home fragrancing was the strongest sector reported two thirds of respondents (67%), showing the biggest increase in 2022, followed by toys and games (60%) and greeting cards (57%). Some 83% invested in new products last year, and looking at the product areas gift indies see as ripe for further diversification this year eco/sustainable giftware is top of the list followed by home fragrancing, clothing, men’s gifts and greeting cards which all tied in second place. Made in Britain too, was important to 93% of survey respondents. As for online trading, 57% of respondents reported a
transactional website, with almost two thirds of respondents planning to develop their website further this year. As for 2023, the mood seems encouragingly positive, with most retailers predicting that business will remain about the same or will see marginal growth this year. Showing their support for King Charles, over half of respondees said that they were planning to celebrate the Coronation in May.
How was Christmas 2022? Having experienced an unsettling Christmas in 2022, with the costof-living crisis raging, disruptive rail and postal strikes causing havoc, and the media across the board putting out continuous, negative stories, the expectation was that consumers would tighten their purse strings when it came to Christmas gifting, with a lower spend expected as gift givers edited their present buying list or abandoned gift buying altogether. However, 70% of respondents (compared to 90% in 2021), confirmed that Christmas 2022 was better or the same as Christmas 2021, with less than a third saying that it was worse. Left: For many respondents, Christmas didn’t disappoint.
How Did Your Business Fare Over The Last Year? PG&H looks back at seven years of Retail Barometer data 2021 v 2022 Better 47% Same 18% Worse 35%
2020 v 2021 Better 78% Same 13% Worse 9%
2019 v 2020 Better 23% Same 13% Worse 64%
2018 v 2019 Better 37% Same 24% Worse 39%
2017 v 2018 Better 45% Same 28% Worse 27%
2017 v 2016 Better 37% Same 21% Worse 42%
2016 v 2015 Better 56% Same 18% Worse 26%
PROGRESSIVE GIFTS & HOME WORLDWIDE
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