Homeware sales fell back into negative territory on the high street, as overall sales were up again during May.

According to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker, total like-for-like (LFL) sales rose by 3.81% for the week ending 19 May 2024.

Homeware total LFL sales fell by -3.82% this week from a negative base of -3.70% for the same week last year, marking the fourteenth negative result for the category so far in 2024.

Store homewares LFL sales sank by -4.67% from a base of -6.94% for the same week last year, denoting the category’s fifteenth negative outcome so far in 2024.

Total in-store LFL sales dipped by -0.46% from a base of +1.37% for the same week last year. Total non-store LFL sales jumped by +12.43% from a base of -8.17% for the same week last year.

Commenting on the results, BDO said: “Non-store sales climbed for a third consecutive week, driven by strong fashion results, causing a boost in total LFL sales as in-store sales slipped into the red this week.

“The weather this week was a mix of warm sunshine and bright spells with patchy clouds and showers in some parts of the UK. During the same week last year, the weather was drier with sunny spells and showery rain in places.”

Overall footfall dropped by -0.7% this week when compared to the corresponding week last year. The drop in total footfall was driven by a decline in high street (-2.6%) and shopping centre (-1.2%) results. In contrast, retail parks saw footfall increase by +3.7%.