45% of respondents to Progressive Housewares’ annual Retail Barometer survey said their businesses had fared better in 2022, than in 2021.
As part of the 18th annual Retail Barometer survey, Progressive Housewares asked independent cookshops and housewares retailers how their business had fared over the past year. 45% said better, 22% said business had remained the same, while 33% said their business had been worse.
This was the second year running where the majority of respondents had seen an uptick in trade, with 62% reporting better trade in 2021, and apart from that year, 2022 had the best result for the last five years. Despite the economic turbulence of the last year, it seems that the lack of Covid related restrictions during 2022 resulted in a better year for the housewares high street.
Of those who reported improved business, sales had increased by an average of 17%, while those reporting a worse year in 2022, also said sales fell by an average of 17%.
The cost of living crisis did have an impact on customers’ spending habits, however, and compared to 2021 when almost a quarter of retailers saw a significant increase in the average spend, no respondents reported the same for 2022. 30% said they saw a slight increase in spend, while the majority, 50%, said the average customer spend remained the same, and 20% saw a significant decrease in customer spend.
When asked about the coming year, retailers were cautious in their expectations. With continuing uncertainty around the economic outlook, 40% said they were expecting a slight decline, but 30% are hoping for marginal growth. 20% expect trade to remain about the same and 10% are predicting significant growth.
