UK Retailers Still Struggling

Monday 04th of July 2011 04:46:43 PM

UK Retailers Still Struggling

June was another rough month for UK retailers still trying to cope with slow consumer spending. Cash strapped shoppers are limiting the amount of money they spend on clothing and trying to deal with the credit card debt incurred over the last couple of years. To lure shoppers, UK retailers continue to offer slashed prices to attract consumer disposable spending. Sam James is the owner of Disorder Boutique. He said, "There's been a sale going on for the last year or so. Go into bigger stores and everything is on sale. It's a race to the bottom and it's really quite worrying. We've had to be more competitive. We have to tick more boxes. Price is a huge factor. But you have to do more and be cleverer as a small business. You can't cut by more than 25%. Below that you are cutting into profit. You can't just look to reduce prices.”

This is precisely one reason why consumers shop online for clothing like tees and sweaters. It is simply cheaper to buy online. When consumers don’t have money to spend on clothing, they shop for bargains. The brick-and-mortar stores are limited to the 25 percent reduction because they have high overhead like rent and utilities for each store. Internet retailers can sell online on a global basis and offer incredibly low prices. Consumers looking for deals will find all the deals they want on the internet.

The story is different for storefront retailers. Amy Whitaker owns Pomegranate which sells adult clothing, and she said, "We've noticed people are coming in and saying they've not got any money, which is obviously not good when you're a retailer. It's something we're hearing at the moment. I make sure I'm covering all the price points.” Then she added that cheaper priced items are selling well. “I've introduced them to try and sell more," she said.

Some feel that the doom and gloom news reports are impacting retailers. On the other hand, unemployment numbers remain high and household budgets have had to be cut accordingly. Shopping for t-shirts, sweats and polo shirts online can save consumers a lot of money, and in the end, that’s what is important when trying to make ends meet.