Homeware sales continued to perform well on the high street once again, while footfall saw small growth.

According to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker, total like-for-like (LFL) sales rose by 3.40% for the week ending 3 September 2023.

Homeware total LFLs were up by +4.84%, failing to offset a woeful base of 11.81% for the same week last year. This signifies the category’s fourteenth positive result so far in 2023.

Store sales for homeware rose by +2.00% from a positive base of +3.26% for the same week last year, marking the category’s tenth consecutive positive result since the first week of July and its twenty seventh so far in 2023.

Total in-store LFL sales increased by +2.29% from an already positive base of +7.36% for the same week last year. Total non-store LFL sales were up by +3.57%, failing to offset a negative base of -4.73% seen last year.

Commenting on the results, BDO said: “Total LFL sales were lifted by positive in-store and online sales results in a week that opened with the August Bank Holiday Monday and marked the end of summer school holidays across much of the UK.

“Homewares saw positive LFL sales growth this week, potentially aided by outdoor summer spending, while online fashion helped boost total fashion sales.

“This week was a mixed bag of sunshine, dry weather and rain as August came to an end and September started. The same week last year saw somewhat unpleasant weather marked by overcast and chilly conditions.”

Overall footfall was flat this week with a meagre increase of +0.6% compared to the same week in 2022. Shopping centre footfall grew by +1.0%, while both the high street and retail parks saw small growth figures of +0.5% and +0.3% respectively.