Made.com boss: Shoppers holding back on homeware purchases amid pressure on budgets
The boss of online furniture retailer Made has said shoppers have “held back” with purchases lately amid dramatic increases in the cost of living.
Speaking to the PA news agency, chair Susanne Given said customers were more hesitant than usual due to rising inflation and war in Ukraine.
She added: “The customer has definitely held back in the short term financially.
“The macroeconomic backdrop means that, however big a customer’s budget, they are thinking about spending.
“It’s our view that we now focus on continuing to take market share, because customers are definitely pulling back but we’ve steadily built momentum against competitors so are in a great position whatever the environment.”
Retailers have warned that spending will slow in coming weeks, after the easing of Covid restrictions earlier this year helped to boost high street footfall and retail sales.
Economic challenges will result in “a heightened demand for what customers see as better value products,” Given explained.
Like many of its peers, Made.com has had to hike prices against a backdrop of higher shipping and labour costs.
“There isn’t a business around, in furnishing or elsewhere, that won’t have had to reassess their pricing this year, and it means there is always potential people will start pricing down.”
Furniture and furnishing prices shot up 16.8 per cent versus the same month last year, according to fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics last week.