Growth in the value of watch sales in London was outpaced by the rest of Great Britain in September for a second consecutive month.
London growth evaporated in August, with a dip of -.9% but returned to year on year growth in September of 3.1%.
The rest of Great Britain, excluding London, saw the value of sales rise by 8.4% in September, its fastest growth rate since May 2017, according to the latest point of sale analysis by GfK.
The seemingly endless decline in the value of sales for watches costing under £500 continued into September, with an annual drop of 14%. The sub£500 market has not registered year-on-year growth in any month since November 2016.
Online watch sales no longer compensate for a shrinking market at brick and mortar stores. In September, online sales for watches at all price points declined by -3.2%. Online sales for the past 12 months are now down -2.7% compared to the same period in 2016-17.
In his quarterly report for WatchPro, Paul Mitchell, senior client insight director at GfK says: “The past five years have seen the British watch market transformed. In 2013, watches sold for more than £1000 accounted for just under half the market. Last year that had risen to two-thirds. At the same time watches costing under £500, which was 45% of all sales in 2013 now account for just 30%. In his latest quarterly report on the state of the watch market, Paul Mitchell, senior client insight director at retail analyst GfK, updates the market on the latest statistics.”