Christmas and Q4 was strong for Household, Non-Food and Online Retail

Recent media commentary has painted a lacklustre picture of Christmas trading. However, a closer look at the ONS Retail Sales year-on-year data tells a far more encouraging story for sectors central to BHETA membership.

While Q4 was soft in Food, year-on-year trends show clear momentum building through 2025, particularly in Household Goods, Non-Food retail and Non-Store (E-commerce) — all key BHETA categories.

What the data really shows

Analysis of ONS year-on-year sales value data highlights:

• Household Goods moved from significant declines earlier in 2024 to strong positive growth by Q4 2025, reaching +6.7% YoY, reflecting improving consumer confidence and replacement spend.
• Non-Food stores delivered consistently positive YoY growth throughout 2025, culminating in +3.9% in Q4, despite ongoing cost-of-living pressures.
• E-commerce (Non-Store Retailing) showed the strongest acceleration, with YoY growth rising to around +7% in Q4, underlining the continued structural shift towards online purchasing.

This YoY lens — rather than short-term monthly volatility — provides a much clearer view of underlying market health.

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What BHETA members are seeing

BHETA’s qualitative member insight aligns closely with the official data. Feedback from across the housewares and home improvement supply base suggests:

• Q4 trading was stronger than expected, with one member commenting that it “saved the year”.
• January 2026 orders have exceeded expectations, as retailers re-stock following cautious inventory management in late 2024.
• Retailers are responding selectively but decisively where sell-through has proven resilient.

Clearly the market is still tough due to the last few years of high inflation decimating volumes, but these numbers do suggest greater stability in non-food entering 2026 than many reports suggest.

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What retailers are saying

Retailers have been reporting on Q4. Whilst those who have done well can sometimes be quickest to report, there are some encouraging performances:

• Dunelm +1.6%
• ProCook +17.2%
• Topps Tiles +2% LFL
• OKA +21%
• The Cotswold Company +17%
• The Hut Group +7%
• Wickes +6.2%
• B&M UK +1.9%

Some encouraging signs!

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Turning data into decisions

BHETA specialises in cutting through the noise by combining official data sources such as ONS with deep sector insight and GlobalData’s retail intelligence. Through this partnership, BHETA members and retail partners receive quarterly market reports and live presentations translating complex data into practical commercial insight.

The next BHETA Quarterly Market Update webinars take place on 17 March, covering:

• DIY & Gardening (morning session)
• Housewares & Small Electrical Appliances (afternoon session)

These sessions will explore:

• Category-level performance
• Retail and channel trends
• Forward outlook and implications for suppliers and buyers

If you want to understand what’s really happening in the market — not just the headlines — BHETA’s market analysis provides the clarity needed to plan with confidence.

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