Total LFL retail sales declined by -6.89% during the week ended 2nd March, 2025, from a base of -6.32% for the same week last year, reports BDO in its latest High Street Sales Tracker.
LFL sales dropped across all retail segments and sales channels in the final week of February, resulting in the lowest outcome for total LFL sales since the final week of November 2024.
Lifestyle saw the sharpest drop, as both store and non-store LFL sales fell by double digits. Homewares total LFLs depreciated by -3.24% from a negative base of -21.02% for the same week in 2024. Store homewares sales reduced -3.08% from a base of -9.70% for the same week last year. The week’s homewares total and store sales results marked the second consecutive negative outcome for both categories.
Total store LFL sales dropped -5.46% from a negative base of -3.50% for the same week last year. Total non-store LFL sales sank by -10.26% from a base of -4.76% for the same week in 2024.
The weather that week was a mixed bag of sunny spells signifying the early start of spring, alongside dry and fine conditions in many parts of the South, while northern areas saw heavy clouds, showers and rains. During the corresponding week last year, the UK experienced wet and windy conditions with heavy rains in many parts.
Overall footfall saw a climb of +3.9% as results improved across all sub-categories, with high streets seeing the highest increase (+4.3%), closely followed by retail parks with a growth of +4.0% and then shopping centres with +3.0%.
