18-21_23 Retail Barometer 2021_muk.qxp_Grid 15/04/2021 08:08 Page 18
The 2021 Retail Barometer readings
Inset: Face coverings became the norm in shops in 2020. Photo: Anna Shvets. Below: Cooking has provided consumers with solace as well as sustenance. Photo: Nicole Michalou.
The findings of the 16th annual PH Retail Barometer make fascinating as well as optimistic reading. In a year when non-essential retailers were forced to close for many months due to Covid-19 lockdowns, and consumers stayed at home for so much of it, independent cookshops and housewares stockists rose to the challenge of supplying a nation of new home cooks and bakers. So how did demand weigh against the logistics of sales for independent housewares retailers in the last year, what product categories were most affected, and what were the new drivers for business? PH explores a wealth of data and its significance for the housewares industry.
The
extraordinary year
DISHING UP SOME GOOD NEWS
The PH Retail Barometer (now in its 16th year) gathered responses from independent cookshops and housewares stockists from different locations across the UK. Completing the survey during the first half of March, independents reflected on 2020 as well as looking ahead into 2021 and beyond. Some remained open (or partially open) due to being in the essential ‘hardware’ category during the Covid-19 lockdowns that shaped 2020, but the vast majority of respondents closed their ONLINE SHIFT physical doors for months Collectively, for all the respondents, 71% of total sales were via the (from the end of March physical shops in 2020 versus 29% online. Some 68% of the Retail Barometer respondents are currently selling to June, and in November online, to varying extents (with just 3% purely online). However, there for four weeks, and many was a notable shift showing the need for ecommerce in the pandemic, with nearly a third of these (30%) having started to sell online in the from Boxing Day). past year. Here’s the strikingly good news: for 54% of respondents, overall business was better or the same in 2020, when having had the most detrimental impact on business in 2020 overall, compared to 2019 (see box comparing data from the last five year). In but a substantial 70% of respondents also recognise that the rise of fact, despite the months of lockdown closures, the number home cooking (due to lockdowns and restaurant closures) has saying business was ‘better’ is similar to the previous year’s Retail increased sales – and half of these say it “significantly increased sales.” Barometer findings. Hence, this pandemic phenomenon enters the top ten list of However, there were some dramatically different fortunes, with ‘positive influences on business’ at number four (see table, and respondents ranging from businesses that were down by 65% in ‘The positives’ section). 2020, to those who were So, understandably, up by 80%. Looking into there is a mixture of How has your business fared over the last year? the figures, 27% were up influences of the PH looks back at five years of Retail Barometer data: by 30% or more, vs 15% Covid-19 lockdowns that were down by (including the most 2020 vs 2019 2019 vs 2018 2018 vs 2017 2017 vs 2016 2016 vs 2015 30% or more. recent in 2021) – Better 39% Better 37% Better 26% Better 31% Better 41% Unsurprisingly, preventing sales in Same 15% Same 26% Same 28% Same 16% Same 5% Worse 46% Worse 37% Worse 46% Worse 53% Worse 54% lockdowns are cited as supposedly ‘nonPROGRESSIVE
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HOUSEWARES