Homeware sales fell into negative territory on the high street while footfall remained positive.

According to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker, total like-for-like (LFL) sales fell by 1.84% for the week ending 30 October 2022.

Homeware total LFLs were down by 4.00% from a positive base of +7.78% for the same week last year, denoting the category’s first negative result after four weeks of positive LFLs and its twenty ninth negative result for this year.

Instore homeware sales rose by +3.73% from a base of +21.33% for the same week last year, marking its fifth consecutive positive result and thirtieth for 2021.

Total in-store LFL sales grew by +1.99%, from a base of +42.19% for the same week last year. Total non-store LFL sales dropped by -4.80% but was from a strong base of +17.87% in 2021.

Commenting on the results, BDO said: “Total non-store LFLs declined for the third consecutive week as total in-store LFL sales increased with homewares seeing the highest LFL growth.

“In a week that saw Rishi Sunak sworn in as the UK’s third Prime Minister for this year and which also included the weekend leading into Halloween, total LFLs fell into the red for the first time since the UK was in lockdown in February 2021.

“The weather in the UK this week was unseasonably warm for late October with temperatures in some areas closer to those expected at the end of summer and early autumn. The same week last year saw chillier temperatures with parts of the country experiencing intermittent showers.”

Overall footfall rose by +4.5% this week compared to the corresponding week in 2021. High street footfall jumped by +8.3%, while shopping centre footfall was up by +2.3% and footfall to retail park footfall decreased by -1.2%.