According to Procos (French Federation for the Promotion of Specialised Trade) the activity in March 2024 in stores of specialised trade brands ends with growth at +6.1%, good news after several months of somewhat sluggish activity. Moreover, and it's rare, all sectors are experiencing more or less significant growth.
Some sectors have had a favourable month, such as specialised food (+10.5%), gifts-culture-toys (+9.5%), and beauty-health (+8.6%). The clothing sector, also finishes with growth. This positive trend (+4.5%) marks a favourable change from previous months.
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Other sectors end the month with slight growth between +1.5% and +3%, close to the inflation rate (+2.5% in March according to INSEE). Web sales are slightly growing (+4.1%) compared to March 2023 on average for specialised trade, with two sectors standing out at the extremes: beauty-health up by +13.8% and -15% for the gifts-culture-toys sector.
Furthermore, store traffic in March has evolved very positively compared to March 2023 at +7.4%. After the first three months, the cumulative activity evolution of specialised trade sectors in retail stores is growing by +3.6%.
'The inflation rate has significantly decreased to 2.3%, with much less impact on purchasing power anxiety and should contribute to restoring some serenity. This gradually returning confidence should progressively have a positive effect on the activity of specialised trade brand stores.
However, nothing is certain as other phenomena are at play, such as home furnishings (pressure on the housing construction sector) but also clothing (debate on fast fashion, uncontrolled impact of activities by players such as Shein or Temu, platforms whose activity also impacts more than just clothing).
The developments in the coming months will shed light on the trends by the end of 2024. If these improvements in consumption were to persist, which is hoped for and predicted, sales growth should remain relatively modest at least until summer, if not throughout 2024.
In the context of the numerous ongoing societal transformations, which are multiplying, trade and its actors are both impacted and actors and therefore must be at the heart of reflections and co-creation of the future, particularly in territories. The challenge is to build economic models capable of implementing these changes and defining their trajectories,' concludes Procos.
More information:
Procos
www.procos.org