Christmas shopping
(Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

December dip takes shine off record watch sales in 2021

Shops remained open in December, but people were voting with their feet, particularly with the introduction of Plan B advice to work from home.

The public’s reaction to the rise of omicron in Britain dented sales in December but could not derail a spectacular year for the British watch industry.

Shops remained open in December, but people were voting with their feet, particularly with the introduction of Plan B advice to work from home.

This contributed to the value of all watch sales dropped by 22.7% in December in comparison to the same month a year earlier.

However, GfK reports that full year sales rose by 33.2%, with the top end market for 5-figure timepieces driving the entire sector higher.

The total value of all watch sales in Great Britain is around £1.83 billion, although GfK would not confirm this figure.

The average transaction value of each watch sold in 2021 was almost 40% higher than in 2020.

The total value of sales for watches priced at over £10,000 increased by 44.5%, almost exactly the same rise as for pieces selling for £5,000 to £10,000 (+44.6%).

Notably, the sub-£500 sector managed to sneak into positive growth of 1.2% in 2021, the first time it has grown since 2014.

Gfk december 2021 data

Although footfall was significantly down in December, leading to a drop in store sales, there was no rise in online revenue to compensate.

Online sales dipped by 24.4% in December but ended the year up by almost 10% — evidence, if anybody needs reminding, that brick and mortar is king when it comes to prestige watch sales.

The GfK data broadly aligns with Swiss figures, which show the UK as the fourth largest market in the world in November with exports worth CHF 1.23 billion (£0.99 billion) for the first 11 months of the year.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *