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A mixed bag: What's in store for retail in 2013?

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For 2013, SAS and Verdict research have once again worked together to provide a glimpse of what we think is in store for UK retail over the months ahead.

WINNERS: We see larger growth in food retail (2.9 percent) compared to non-food retail (0.8 percent) - but this is being driven overwhelmingly by inflation. Similarly, DIY and gardening will be retail’s best performing sector in 2013 - but the 3.3 percent growth we expect must be measured against the sector’s successive declines over the preceding two years. Perhaps the most significant winners will be in the online arena where convenience and cost-savings will entice consumers into driving further significant growth. For online retailers, the priority will be ensuring that transactional websites are optimised for mobile use.

LOSERS: Our prediction is for home entertainment sectors to decline the most, with music and video spending falling by 6.3 percent in 2013. Specialist stores - in particular music and video and book stores - will suffer as their reliance on a single product will hit volume growth. We expect online to overtake bricks and mortar as the primary books retail channel, accounting for 52.9 percent of the market.

Of course, reality is rarely this black and white – especially in the retail sector - and we see uncertainty ahead for “winners” and “losers” alike.

So, overall UK retail expenditure may indeed be set to grow by 1.8 percent in 2013 – which is the highest growth rate since the recession began – but that growth is largely down to rising prices, which complicates the demarcation between “winners” and “losers”.

It is also significant that many of the biggest brands are looking beyond the UK for their best growth opportunities with, for example, the likes of Primark, H&M, Topshop and Marks & Spencer targeting Eastern Europe, China and North America.

Where do you see the best opportunities and the biggest challenges for the year ahead? Share your experience and let us know how accurate our predictions prove to be for the retail sector in 2013.

Read the full report to find out how Britain will shop in 2013.

Tags food losers non-food retain winners
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About Author

Cindy Etsell

Principal Marketing Specialist

Cindy joined SAS UK in 2010 as a Retail Consultant. Her focus is to help build and drive SAS UK’s retail business, with responsibilities that include increasing the awareness of SAS to potential retail customers, liaising with existing customers to ensure satisfaction and speaking on behalf of the company at key industry events. Her knowledge and skills enable her to quickly address customer challenges within a specified budget and timeframe, ensuring positive outcome for SAS and its retail customers. Cindy brings a vast amount of experience to SAS. She started her career as a sales associate with Canadian retailer T. Eaton Company where she worked her way up to section head learning the trade and complexities involved in running a successful retail business. Since then, she has held roles in a number of major organisations, including Hewlett-Packard, SAP UK, and most recently Cisco which she joined in 2006 as industry business development manager for retail.

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