Sales at John Lewis department stores fell by 3.7% last week as the combination of warm weather and epic tennis battles kept consumers at home. However overall sales at the John Lewis partnership were up by 4.4% as consumers flocked to Waitrose for their picnic staples.
As the recession continues to take its toll on consumer confidence retailers are turning to even deeper discounting to encourage consumers to part with their cash.
However, Neil Saunders, consulting director at Verdict Research, says the difficulty faced by retailers is not generating footfall but it is actually getting consumers to spend. He says: ‘Retailers need to have a compelling offer or limited discount.'
Additionally the growing number of retailers relying on discounting outside the key summer and January sales periods has made it harder to generate consumer interest. ‘Shops like Next and John Lewis which only discount in the key sales period have a genuine demand from consumers but for shops like Debenhams which discount all the time it is harder to generate excitement,' says Saunders.
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