Seasonal Retail Trends in the UK – A Market Outlook

Because the excessive value of residing continues to influence UK households this autumn and winter, searching for seasonal meals, presents, decorations, and costumes is as soon as once more topic to restrained spending behaviour. This comes after a short reduction in seasonal retail for Halloween, Bonfire Evening, and Christmas in 2021, following the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions. Nevertheless, as customers’ monetary conditions worsen, Mintel specialists are observing modifications in how, the place, and when customers are spending their cash. To stem the rising value of residing, Brits are reverting to totally different strategies:

Nevertheless, worth for cash stays the highest order of the day for customers throughout the board. Though buying and selling down is a well-liked pattern throughout financially squeezed occasions, many are additionally prepared to commerce up for prime quality merchandise, following a “purchase much less, however higher” mentality.

Beneath, we place the highlight on seasonal occasions related to most UK customers, reminiscent of Halloween and Bonfire Evening, Black Friday, and Christmas. How are customers searching for these occasions? We focus on how inflation impacts the retail trade and shopping for behaviour this vacation season.

After a number of years of cancelled occasions resulting from pandemic lockdowns, it’s encouraging to see that Halloween and Bonfire Evening are actually in restoration and are surpassing pre-pandemic ranges.

Each Halloween and Bonfire Evening profit from individuals utilizing these events as an excuse to see household and mates, with many internet hosting social gatherings and feasts for the seasonal celebrations. Subsequently, fancy gown and confectionery dominate shopper spending surrounding these occasions within the UK, with spending totalling an estimated £685 million in 2021, instantly following the pandemic bans.

Nevertheless, following this post-pandemic uptick, the way forward for Halloween celebrations might be overshadowed by the influence of the price of residing disaster, inflicting shopper confidence to plummet and a possible return to cautious spending behaviour adopted through the pandemic. Though this poses challenges for manufacturers to promote their merchandise within the upcoming autumn vacation season, non-public labels have the chance to advertise their merchandise as reasonably priced alternate options, as customers shopping for meals for social gatherings are prone to commerce down to keep up budgets.

At 62%, most searching for Halloween and Bonfire Evening within the UK is made in-store in comparison with purchases made on-line. Nevertheless, there was a notable improve in purchases by way of smartphones, as youthful customers proceed to be a key demographic for Halloween and as they’re extra prone to store on-line in comparison with older demographics. Moreover, customers throughout generations are inclined to search for inspiration on-line earlier than buying. A mix of each on- and offline channels, is how manufacturers can seize most clients’ curiosity and supply a seamless procuring expertise.

Hovering costs resulting from inflation, the extraordinary excessive value of residing, and squeezed incomes have affected customers’ shopping for and spending behaviours in 2022. A shift in how, when, and the way a lot individuals are shopping for will seemingly proceed to be impacted by squeezed incomes this yr.

A method customers are tackling hovering costs is by procuring early. 14% of customers began their Christmas procuring earlier than September in 2022, in an effort to unfold out the fee over a number of months, rising to 44% who’ve shopped previous to October. This performs into the playing cards of retail big Amazon, who maintain their annual Amazon Prime Day in July . Reportedly, customers have been in a position to save over $1.7 billion globally and over 300 million gadgets have been offered in 2022, making a win-win scenario for the retailer and customers alike. Along with that, Amazon additionally launched their Prime Early Entry sale in mid-October 2022 to assist clients unfold out their seasonal spending. In retailer and on-line retailer, John Lewis, additionally made an effort to assist customers make smaller orders through click-and-collect by eradicating its £30 minimal spend till 19 October – a a lot welcome scheme for customers who have been being hit exhausting by inflation at that time.

Aside from these particular gross sales that manufacturers have provided over the course of final yr to help clients in stemming the prices for the vacations, Black Friday has grow to be an enormous retail occasion past US borders. Over a fifth of present patrons waited for reductions earlier than shopping for Christmas presents final yr, with this being a standard theme throughout all demographics.

89% of Brits participated in present giving over the vacations in 2022.

Clothes and wonder gadgets proceed to be Christmas mainstays and remained the most well-liked presents to buy in 2022. Clothes retailers reminiscent of Subsequent, JD Sports activities, and Marks & Spencer have indicated that Christmas has been beneficial for clothes gross sales and chilly climate has inspired the acquisition of seasonal merchandise, e.g. coats and jumpers. Christmas can also be thought of the height social gathering season and with restrictions on gatherings lifted, this has given the occasionwear sector a a lot wanted increase as UK patrons shopped for formal clothes items to point out off on the workplace Christmas social gathering or household festivities.

Meals – being a serious side of the vacation festivities – additionally confirmed an uptick in gross sales in December. Many need a particular meal for the vacations, both in- or out-of-home, making foods and drinks a central a part of seasonal celebrations with household and mates. Furthermore, foods and drinks gadgets, reminiscent of candies or alcoholic drinks are fashionable present selections: In 2022, 33% of UK present patrons reported buying foods and drinks gadgets as presents.

As Britons are headed in direction of an anticipated tough January, present playing cards and vouchers present a rise in reputation in the case of gifting, as they function a sensible present to assist the receiver with common bills and since they provide the recipient flexibility on spend the cash themselves. Discount traits have additionally seen an uptake final vacation season as 51% of Brits say they didn’t spend as a lot on presents as they’d have favored resulting from monetary issues. Others mentioned they agreed with members of the family and mates to not give one another presents or to take part in a Secret Santa to ease the stress on people.

The most important risk in 2023 would be the stress on funds that UK customers will proceed to really feel. Christmas 2022 already introduced customers’ monetary issues to the forefront and produced a shift in procuring and spending behaviours, making it tough for retailers to interact clients. This yr, we’ll seemingly see much more customers reducing again, not simply when it comes to spending but additionally when it comes to the quantity of presents purchased and given. Subsequently, the largest alternatives this vacation season might be discovered on the lower-ticket finish of the market. Items which mix worth however don’t sacrifice on sentiment and high quality might be extremely wanted.

Have your self a merry little Christmas. Discovering pleasure was a recurring theme in 2022 Christmas commercials. Entrepreneurs targeted on discovering and spreading moments of pleasure throughout occasions of crises, e.g. Amazon’s ‘Pleasure is Made’ Christmas TV advert wherein a loving father recreates a life-size model of the snow globe that his daughter carries in all places. She is mesmerised by the scene contained in the greenhouse with shredded paper (the shredder an Amazon product) appearing as snow and different gadgets borrowed from their neighbours. With this advert the retail big highlights how magical experiences could be made by way of considerate and imaginative resourcing, serving to customers rocking round the price of residing disaster, whereas concurrently promoting their merchandise.

Supply: ‘Pleasure is Made’ Christmas Advert by Amazon

As UK customers will proceed to be impacted by rising costs, retailers are as soon as once more referred to as to spotlight worth past pricing this yr, and should help clients find pleasure within the little issues this Christmas.

Shoppers have gotten extra conscious of the impact their seasonal procuring habits and the throwaway nature of vacation festivities have on the planet, with 69% of customers saying that occasions like Halloween produce an excessive amount of waste. Our specialists’ analysis reveals that Brits wish to take cost and do one thing in regards to the waste they’re producing. That is evidenced by the almost 1 in 4 Brits who’ve reused Halloween costumes in 2021.

Stress and expectations on retailers develop with customers’ inexperienced sentiments and should be ready to tackle better accountability by way of product traces that don’t exacerbate plastic waste and by offering companies to assist recycle unneeded gadgets, or by providing recycling reward schemes that reward seasonal patrons for procuring sustainably, present worth for cash, and instill buyer loyalty.

The current discount pattern final Christmas isn’t solely pushed by the price of residing disaster, but additionally by worth and sustainability targets. The main focus, as our specialists noticed in 2022, was on shopping for greater, extra significant presents, decreasing the variety of recipients, and reducing again on smaller stocking filler-type presents. Whereas inflationary costs have been the principle driver for this shift in shopper behaviour, this will also be checked out from a sustainability viewpoint.

This dialog will outlast the pandemic and the price of residing disaster and, going ahead, the way in which manufacturers are shifting in direction of a climate-friendly financial system might be scrutinised in additional element by UK clients. As 45% of customers mentioned they’ve tried to purchase extra sustainable presents, it turns into evident that the demand for extra sustainable initiatives from manufacturers is growing. Whereas, at first look, this will look like an unwelcome disruption to retailers’ seasonal enterprise, it does open up alternatives that faucet into the moral and sustainable targets of UK customers. In an effort to assist customers with the rising value of residing and to be extra sustainable, eBay targeted all its promotional advertisements on second-hand presents throughout Black Friday in 2022.

Supply: greenelftrees.co.uk

Tapping into this shopper demand, the sustainable Christmas tree firm Inexperienced Elf Bushes presumably affords clients probably the most sustainable Christmas tree but. They offer customers the choice to hire their Christmas timber and have them replanted after use. Furthermore, they partnered with the courier Stuart to ship domestically sourced Christmas timber to their shoppers inside the M25. The timber have been delivered utilizing 100% electrical automobiles. After Christmas, the rentable tree is collected and re-potted through a reforestation undertaking. On prime of that, for each tree bought, Inexperienced Elf Bushes donated £3 to a charity which was chosen by the client from an inventory of a number of charities the corporate helps. It is a nice instance of an organization speaking transparently and dealing along with their clients and supporting them in making sustainable selections with out compromising on the seasonal enjoyable of getting a adorned tree at dwelling through the festive season.

The price of residing disaster might have initiated extra sustainable and worth pushed practices, nonetheless, even after the chokehold of inflation – which is dashing up the acceptance of gifting second-hand gadgets – subsides, sustainability will proceed to drive customers to rethink their consumption habits and search a round financial system.

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