Our regular column shining a light on retail trends, sees Mary Lewis, retail manager at The Point.1888, take stock of 2024 so far at retail and the broader influences – be that economic, political or sporting.
As we’re now over halfway through the year, it’s a good time to take stock of 2024 at retail and the broader influences – be that economic, political and even sporting – all of which had an impact on UK retail performance year to-date. It is a fair assessment to say retail has overall been tumultuous as consumer confidence has been shaken by the economic narrative, as well as the reality of seeing less pennies in our purses.
Ongoing international upheaval has impacted retailers and the supply chain on these shores which has seen casualties from the Body Shop to Ted Baker and most recently Carpetright. However, there has also been green shoots with innovation and laser focus on strategy proving the winning formula to out-run the competition. What in today’s climate is positioned as a win, Ocado has narrowed its losses across its technology solutions, logistics and (most importantly and promisingly) it’s anticipating retail sales to see mid to high single digit growth.
On the other side of the coin, the value retailers are still flourishing in this tricky trading environment such as Iceland with its latest brand collaboration with YouTube influencers, ‘Sidemen’, with its (you guessed it) range of sides. With the media landscape in which children and teens are consuming content becoming increasingly fragmented, YouTube influencers are making hay while the sun shines as they continue on their mission to become household names. And the Sidemen’s partnership with Iceland is a perfect avenue for both brands to further increase their relevancy with their target customers.
We continue to see traditional linear TV being challenged with Kids Insights latest report citing that across age groups, kids are more likely to name YouTube and Netflix as their go-to platforms with 52% of preschoolers primarily watching YouTube and an additional 22% favouring Netflix; this is versus just 16% watching linear TV. This report clearly demonstrates that studio strategies to opt for Netflix-first as done with the likes of Gabby’s Dollhouse and Unicorn Academy alongside a compelling YouTube content platform is a good way to go.
Bringing brands to life through experiences also continues with Selfridges launching its own sports bar at the Oxford Street store in partnership with Champion. As mentioned, sporting success and failure has already had an impact on sales with buyers hedging their bets (and buy) on a successful Euros campaign for England (competing for the duration of the tournament but ultimately falling short) and Scotland (a short and sweet appearance) followed by the Olympic and Paralympic Games taking place in Paris.
Speaking of sport, ath-leisure continues to go from strength to strength with the likes of Gymshark building its bricks and mortar footprint with the launch of its new Westfield Stratford store in addition to its Regent Street store and Selfridges concession. However, in contrast to the continuing trend of sportswear not only being for sport; Gymshark has bravely positioned itself as the brand for the gym community with its ‘We Do Gym’ campaign – a clear statement as it continues to position itself as the leader of the pack.
Another activewear brand growing from strength to strength is TALA which has landed £5million of investment – founded by the influencer, Grace Beverley who has utilised her social media skills to build an Instagram following of nearly half a million for the brand’s channel. The company has cited physical retail stores as a target thanks to this investment and further demonstrates the relevancy of having retail space that customers can walk into to experience the brand. Data from Precedence Research supports this suggesting that the global ath-leisure market, which exceeded $360billion last year, could grow to generate a huge $880billion by 2033.
The future of bricks and mortar retail looks brighter with aforementioned brands seeking the space to grow their brand and target new customers, but also with high street stalwarts such as M&S and John Lewis promising to revamp their store spaces. New kids on the block include Character.com which will soon launch its next retail space following the success for its Bridgend store.
A particular focus is also on the non-retail spaces stores have such as cafés as they acknowledge the power of footfall driving – with Primark’s portfolio of cafes themed on the likes of SpongeBob SquarePants and Stitch. Diversification and innovation have continued this year at retail which is great to see.
Staying relevant is also key for retail brands and recently we’ve seen some interesting instances of retailers joining the political debate from Aldi sharing its ballot paper to see which caterpillar will win the people’s vote – Colin or Cuthbert. Or The Entertainer asking its customers whether dinosaurs, unicorns, mermaids or trucks win the children’s vote. ‘Hacking’ into the news agenda when delivered with heart and humour can further demonstrate the retailer’s relevance to its customer-base in a noisy news environment. Morrison’s has also done this through offering customers free breakfast through a partnership with Kellogg’s over the summer holidays; identifying the need some of their customers will have over the summer.
With the continued quiet positivity that’s coming with these innovations at retail and the news of a reassuring steadying of inflation, we hope this feeling continues as we approach the golden quarter. The summer of sport, political change and holidays is in session, and we look forward to seeing what the second half brings as it’s all to play for.
