The federation for the promotion of specialized trade draws up a rather gloomy assessment of sales in the first half of 2024. If the month of March had given some color to the sector, the conclusion of the month of June has further dampened the hopes of retailers.
At its half-yearly press conference, Procos, the federation for the promotion of specialized trade, took stock of the activity of the specialized trade sectors in the first half of 2024. Strongly marked by unfavorable weather, the start of the year is not encouraging for the brands. Indeed, the half-year ends in difficulty for store sales, with a month of June in the red compared to 2023.
On average over this first half of the year, Specialty retail sales are up 2.5% in stores, growth that is exactly at the level of inflation over the period, activity is therefore stagnating. Web sales are following a slightly higher trend (+3.5%). However, these averages hide major sectoral differences.
Strong disparities between sectors
Shoes (-6.1% in stores) and clothing (- 4.8%) record particularly low figures over the period. According to Emmanuel Le Roche, general delegate of the federation: “Only March was positive for clothing and 85% of the brands in our panel are seeing a drop in turnover in the first half of 2024 compared to 2023.”
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Activity is also under strain in the home equipment sector, down 3% over the half-year. Furniture and decoration are experiencing higher contractions, impacted by the ongoing difficulties in the real estate market and tensions related to consumer behavior following high inflation. Sports is also seeing its sales decline in stores. However, these are almost offset by the increase in online sales during the period.
Some sectors are managing to keep their heads above water, such as beauty (+7.5% in store), catering (+4.5%), gifts-culture-toys (+4.5%) and, to a lesser extent, specialized food (+3.5%).
Consumers still cautious
Store footfall fell in 2024 compared to 2023 with a particularly sharp drop in June (-6.1%). This significant contraction can be explained by the current context, which greatly increases the level of uncertainty for consumption and trade.
The fall in inflation (2.1% in June) is able to reassure some consumers and gradually alleviate concerns. However, compulsory spending still weighs on household budgets and decisions often remain unfavorable to non-food products. In addition, investment projects (home equipment, kitchen, etc.) are postponed. Thus, the drop in inflation does not yet herald a more encouraging second half for specialized trade.
Source: www.ecommercemag.fr
