The specialised retail sector in France experienced a mixed performance in November 2024, with overall sales rising by just 1.1% compared to November 2023, according to Procos' panel of 80 retailers. Performance varied significantly by sector. Specialised food and beauty-health saw strong growth, with sales increasing by 8% and 7.2%, respectively. Sectors such as sports goods (+3.4%), gifts-culture-toys (+2.4%), and dining (+1.1%) showed modest gains, though dining growth remained below inflation. Conversely, home furnishings and clothing sales declined by 2% and 0.9%, respectively.
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Consumer spending appeared to be influenced by the late timing of Black Friday, which took place on 29 November, a week later than in 2023. This delayed the usual pre-Christmas shopping boost and compressed the holiday shopping period, prompting retailers to intensify promotional efforts to ensure critical end-of-year sales.
Foot traffic in physical stores reflected this pattern. Visits were down 0.3% for most of the month but surged by 11% in shopping centres and 20% in city centres during the final days of November. However, online sales fell by 3.3% compared to November 2023, with significant declines observed in clothing (-3%), home furnishings (-9%), dining (-9%), and commerce (-5.1%). Analysts attribute this to the Black Friday delay, with some sales likely shifting to December.
As the year-end approaches, economic uncertainty, including a government resignation, has created a challenging environment for retailers. Certain sectors, like home furnishings, face declining year-to-date performance, while others, such as clothing, gifts, and dining, remain slightly positive but under pressure.
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