Clothing Sales are down - No surprise

[TheSuggestedAmendment]

So the ONS data on retail is out. And sales of everything including food and leisure went up in December - except clothes.

Just a suggestion here but could it be because clothes have become wildly over priced at every level and consumers are just saying no?

It's because people are skint and clothes are an area that can be cut back.

If it comes down to it most people would rather eat or socialise than buy a new top.

I buy everything on Vinted now. No way would I be paying out for the poorly made tat that is sold even by supposedly higher end retailers. So disappointed in the expensive new purchases I made the year before that looked awful after a wash.

Online clothing sales are down by 15%. That’s massive.

My guess is, those retailers have put prices up by more than 15%.

My guess would be that it's because most clothing purchases aren't essential. Clothing as a whole is a necessity, but unless you need to replace something or your shape changes, you don't need to be constantly buying clothes. We do need to buy food and we do need to replace household goods fairly urgently if they break.

Doesn't account for the rise in 'other non-food stores', but then that's such a general catch-all that it's impossible to suggest anything about it.

Plus, -1.4% in volume of sales from one month to another doesn't strike me as that significant. The longer-term chart (across all volume sales, not just clothing) suggests a fall between December and January isn't untypical. Okay, it didn't take place in 2022-2023, but it did in 2021-2022. Retailers can't have a rise in sales all the time. If one is to believe the figures suggested as 'average consumer buys' (which in clothing always sound very high to me!) there's a lot of rampant consumerism that could be cut.

Poorly made that sums it up well!

If it were better quality out there I wd definitely spend more.

Its expensive, cheaper material and one thing that is really annoying me is how short everything is

i have a jumper from phase 8 that i love and i bought a new one, it was tighter and two inches shorter

i can buy a bigger size but not longer

^^ I’d agree with this.

Most people don’t need to buy new clothes all that often. So it’s an easy thing to cut back on.

I've got disposable income and would love to buy some new clothes, but there's not much I like at the moment. Blouses with huge balloon sleeves, anything oversized, long dresses...I just look swamped.

I love love love clothes shopping and have an account that I save into each month. At the moment it has quite a bit in it because I haven’t found anything I want to buy from my usual retailers. They just pissed me off with their price hikes.

I honestly think Vinted has taken a massive chunk out of new clothes sale. So many people have so much stuff with tags still on or barely worn, and when they realise that even old stuff is worth something it’s all so easy to list that you might as well whack it on. I walk round shops now and I just think “I bet I can find that on Vinted!”. And anything I’m tired of or doesn’t fit I just resell.

I’d splash the cash if I loved something but it’s all polyester and expensive. Better quality and value to be had on vinted. I am quietly stocking up on old favourites from Vinted, can you imagine in five years when people are flogging the stuff shops are selling now?

Environmentally there may be an upside to this given the damage the fashion industry causes.

I’d love to buy some new clothes! Had a look in a few shops yesterday but I’m not going to spend £70 on a poorly made, ill-fitting viscose dress, an acrylic sweatshirt that gives me the heebeegeebees or some drawing string trousers that will fit of lots of different sized bottoms, but flatter none of them. I just want well made basics in natural fibres, I am happy to pay a bit more for decent stuff, but I won’t pay anything for crap!

Agree that people can easily cut 15% from their clothing spend and barely notice it. The cutting back on free postage and returns makes people think a bit harder before ordering as well.

I do think that the styles in the shops at the moment are very uninspiring but that probably reflects the economic situation.

The sad clothes definitely contribute. I have stalked my favourite online stores since Christmas and seen nothing of interest. And when I do need to replace something (or even fancy something new) Vinted is such a good source. I liked a cropped coat in & Other Stories, £165 in store. Checked Vinted, picked up the same one with tags for £65. A no-brainer.

Exactly what I do, and alot of my friends do the same.

I so agree with this! Everything is cropped, I see so many jumpers that look lovely til I have a closer look and realise they’re short. I’m tall too, so that accentuates it even more.

I’m not surprised clothes sales are down and I Imagine that trend will continue, everything just looks cheap but costs so much more than it used to. Even the charity shop had rubbish shein tat in it being sold for what I imagine more than it was originally on sale for!

I'm in the market for lots of new clothes (recently changed size and had my previous clothes for 10 plus years in some cases. I have disposable income.

Due to my height and shape I need to try things on. Clothes shops have disapeared from the high street. Half the stuff online isn't flattering and places like Sainsburys still have no changing rooms. Quality has gone down. I have an M & S t shirt from 10 years ago and the cotton is thicker, higher quality than the one I bought last year.

I think people are beginning to realise that we don't actually need so many clothes.
Plus trends haven't really moved on over the last few years.
Spring trends this year are blues/denims - exactly the same as last year, plus a sea of classic neutrals.
No change there then.

I buy all my clothes on vinted and from charity shops now. Apart from a pack of pants last week I can't remember the last time I bought anything new.

Only DC gets new clothes in our house. Adults just re-wear what we have of which there is plenty. Buying clothes like anything else gets boring too

I will buy clothes when they stop putting frills and tiers on everything, making us look like the frill necked dinosaur in Jurassic Park. Have hardly bought anything in the last year. Plus the rise of WFH means people don't need as much. I can;t get on with Vinted but I buy from charity shops.

DH is worse. He has shirts that are over 15 years old.

Online clothing sales are down by 15%. That’s massive.

I think i’ve read that some shoppers have returned to physical shops, same for food too. The click & collect model that Next offer is very popular.

I'm team Vinted too. I really don't socialise much at all since the pandemic, my friends have turned into hermits. Everywhere is much more informal too. I think I could make my jeans and jumper work in more or less every situation sadly now.

Plus I'd much rather buy second hand better brands on VintEd. Just a trip out to town to visit the shops seems like a thing of the past. Empty shops, expensive parking.

I am trying to return to physical shops as sizing is all over the place. That will restrict my choices though, but that may be all to the good.
My food bills have gone up so much, as has transport.

DD and DS barely buy any clothes either.