The Retail Sectors Least Effected by The Recession Are...

It's all been doom and gloom lately in the news but its not all bad news for retail as there are sectors within retail that are recession proof and even benefit from tough times. Let's look at what those are and why they are successful.

It's safe to say that the Luxury goods sector doesn't take much of a hit...the very rich stay rich and aren't really effected by the rises in prices etc. However the other side of the coin is that your average person will splash out on little luxury's as they treat themselves to affordable luxury items and give up the more expensive new cars or the exciting holidays. So sales of chocolate, beauty, perfume etc remain strong...all of my favourite things.

The gardening & DIY sector has massively benefited as people give up things like expensive travel they look to improving their home environments themselves, gardening being a relatively cheap hobby that is rewarding.

Hotel Chocolat has gone from a small online ordering supplier to a huge success over the years, now opening high street stores and this week its first airport shop! A perfect example of how the high end chocolate trade is healthy in our current economic situation.

Fast food - as people opt for cheaper comfort food, fast food chains such as McDonald's see the benefit of the recession. Out of 10,000 adults surveyed recently by the Health Food Manufacturers’ Association (HFMA) a third of 18-24 year olds said they opted for fast food because it was cheaper.

Condom sales are actually up this year - as people give up the nights out and stop in... clearly making their own entertainment! The other contributing factor is thought to be couples not being able to afford more children and taking more precautions.

Nail polish sales are booming as people treat themselves to a little personal care luxury, said to be the new lipstick treat.  Soap, bath, shower and haircare products are pretty recession proof but then people will always need to wash!

Pet products - we are still pampering our pets despite the tough economic situation, a nation of pet lovers we are spending billions a year on our pets, most of which would hardly notice a recession was on!

A lot of our installation jobs have been around the beauty industry lately, promoting the goods that are seemingly recession proof.

So with that lot of goodies it looks like we are rather enjoying the small things in life and having some fun! See it's not all bad news....now where is that chocolate...there's a recession on!