UK clothing retailers faced a tougher start to 2026 as shoppers turned more heavily to discounts, though Next PLC outperformed with strong growth.
Fresh data from Kantar shows total UK apparel, footwear and accessories sales slipped 0.1% in the 12 weeks to 1 February, compared with growth of 0.1% in the previous 12-week period.
Sales volumes were flat at 0.0%, while average selling prices dipped 0.1%. That points to retailers cutting prices to drive demand. The full price sales mix – the proportion of goods sold without discounting – fell to 55.9% from 57.6% a year earlier. UBS said this was the “lowest since Jan’23” and described “greater promotional pressure” as the key takeaway.
Online sales declined 5.3%, a steeper fall than the previous period. Store sales rose 4.3%, with UBS noting the improvement offline appeared to be driven by discounted sales.
The readings for listed retailers was mixed, with Kantar calculating that Next grew sales 9.8%, with full price sales up 11.9% and market share rising to 10.7%. This was up from the previous month's data.
Primark, part of Associated British Foods PLC posted 2.2% growth and a small gain in share to 6.8%, while Marks and Spencer Group PLC saw overall sales up 1.0%, with online growth slowing to 3.2%.
ASOS PLC remained under pressure, with sales down 13.4% year on year and full price sales falling 25.9%.
UBS analysts said upcoming company updates would be needed for clearer signals on spending trends and promotional intensity.