Homeware sales fell into negative territory on the high street, while instore sales were also down.

According to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker, total like-for-like (LFL) sales rose by 6.41% for the week ending 30 June 2024.

Homeware total LFL sales sank by -7.60% this week from a base of +0.04% for the same week last year, indicating the category’s seventeenth negative result so far in 2024.

Store homewares LFL sales dipped by -3.51% from a good base of +4.06% for the same week last year, which marks the category’s sixteenth negative outcome so far in 2024.

Total in-store LFL sales increased by +1.51% from an already good base of +6.10% for the same week last year. Total non-store LFL sales skyrocketed by +18.27% from a base of +3.79% for the same week last year.

Commenting on the results, BDO said: “Non-store sales results soared this week, boosting total LFL sales and continuing a trend of positive outcome for a ninth consecutive week. Fashion saw the best results in both store and non-store channels which could potentially be driven by spending on summer fashion as well as ongoing sales and promotional activities by some retailers.

“The weather last week was majorly clear and warm with the UK seeing the hottest day of the year so far, although unseasonably windy conditions developed in northern parts by the end of the week. During the same last week year, the UK experienced unseasonally cool weather with sporadic rainfall and some periods of sunshine.”

Overall footfall dropped by -0.4% compared to the equivalent week last year. Shopping centres saw footfall decline by -2.6% while high streets saw a smaller decrease of -0.2%. On the other hand, retail park footfall increased by +1.8%.