Retail figures plummet by 16%(Q2'08-Q2'09)

gurramok

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0727/retail.html

Retail in freefall. We know that the construction related falls were expected but what we have today is news that the items that have not been inflation mad over the years are suffering too.

Those items are Menswear, Ladieswear & Footwear suffering falls from 17% to 26%.

We know that consumer spending accounts for 60% of our economy(some economist spouted this) so are these declines a result of high prices in a time of high unemployment?(that may sound obvious)

But, not all clothing retail is expensive, look at Penneys who are doing well! So is it just a case of the high priced mulitples suffering, you know the ones of the likes of Debenhams, Oasis, Evans etc??

So, is the consumer shopping around for value at last including NI and the online imports?

Moriarty

You may as well be comparing retail figures from the last quarter to Q1 1990 for all the new information this brings to the table. I'd imagine the only figures of interest at this stage are month-month and quarter-quarter figures, to see whether the decline is still in full swing or whether it's bottoming out.

You don't need an expensive study - or a secondary school education - to be able to say that people are spending less in shops now than they did in the spring of '08.

My point is that the figures are pretty irrelevant, but they'll be treated with far more weight than they deserve. We're interested in how the economy is performing right now, not how it was performing a year ago. Everyone knows the underlying story.

K4t

Pennys' is packed any day I pop in. Decent, affordable clothes. people now realise that that is all they need.

Retailers still charging over 40 and 50 euro for jeans, sweatshirts etc. deserve to go under.

jimmycrackcorm

K4t wrote: »

Pennys' is packed any day I pop in. Decent, affordable clothes. people now realise that that is all they need.

Retailers still charging over 40 and 50 euro for jeans, sweatshirts etc. deserve to go under.

No surprises there, in previous years people didn't care about prices but with all the talk of the 'R' word, everyone is cost conscious now.

miju

K4t wrote: »

Pennys' is packed any day I pop in. Decent, affordable clothes. people now realise that that is all they need.

Retailers still charging over 40 and 50 euro for jeans, sweatshirts etc. deserve to go under.

I can never understand why someone would pay €60 for 1 pair of jeans. only last week I went into Pennys got 4 pairs of Jeans for €58 and they are all good qaulity / stylish looking and have previously last me longer than any brand name. I dunno some people must just be brand whores or something LOL

amacachi

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

No surprises there, in previous years people didn't care about prices but with all the talk of the 'R' word, everyone is cost conscious now.

I cared, I never spent more than 15 quid on a shirt or jeans, unlike a lot of people I know.

Wertz

gurramok wrote: »

So, is the consumer shopping around for value at last including NI and the online imports?

This consumer has been doing that for upwards of 5 yrs now. I never saw the point in going through an Irish middleman when I could source the same imported stuff as they could for a lower price. This started off for electronics goods but these days I buy most of my clothes and footwear online too...the savings and much wider choice make it a no-brainer. For those saying "Ooh but the money leaves the economy bla bla", if I'm buying this stuff here, it was already imported and the only part of my money that stays in the economy is tradeer profits, overheads and duty/VAT.

Another point on this; during boom times, I can personally say that I stocked up on just about everything I wanted to buy...the big telly, the phones, cameras, mp3 players, hifis, clothes, furniture etc...now I bought them with money I actually owned, not through incurring debt....but now that times are tight and money isn't coming in, I've stopped spending...for the obvious reason that A) I have less to spend, so most of it goes on food, utilities and rent, some to savings and that all that sh*t I bought during the tiger era will probably see me right for a while. I don't need the latest digital camera or the bigger telly or that new jacket.
My case probably isn't that typical but I reckon a lot of the fall in consumner spending is down to people being snowed under with stuff they bought when money was there and that now, they'll hold on to those itmes longer...or indeed buy/sell second hand...

thebman

I'm the same as Wertz. I have all the consoles, a gaming laptop, car, 5.1 system, HDTV and mountain bike and I've no debt.

I'm just buying food and the odd cheap game. I was like this near the end of the boom anyway.

I have everything I want. I don't want a bigger TV or any of the games at the moment as I have loads I haven't finished. My Wii doesn't get turned on, 360 is only for Halo, PS3 is for movies and Ratchet and Clank and laptop is for TF2 and L4D.

The only things I bought recently were Fallout 3 (from Steam online), PS3 mic for Pc and phone too as it is bluetooth headset, mouse and printer to print hotel info for holiday to Cork.

I think most people are being reasonable with their money now. People with no debt are fairly content with their lot and probably saving for deposit for house when prices do hit rock bottom in some cases.

People in loads of debt are hoping they don't go under and need every penny they can get to try to avoid bankruptcy.