The weather gods really are not helping.
The July washout hammered retail sales that month and contributed to a 0.5% fall in GDP. There was a rebound in high street activity in August, but September is likely to be dire, again for meteorological reasons.
Fashion retailers look for a big margin boost in the autumn as the racks are cleared of T-shirts and light summer dresses and replaced by coats and chunky knitwear. But those autumn/winter ranges will not be going anywhere.
Latest figures from the Met Office suggest last month was the joint warmest September on record with an average daily maximum of 19.4C. October is heading the same way with temperatures expected to soar into the mid-20s on what is promising to be a glorious weekend.
The last time Britain basked in such a remarkable autumn heatwave in 2016 UK fashion sales fell by 5.9%. But the economy was in much stronger shape then and the high street far better placed to withstand a dip.
Now consumers are still grappling with a prolonged cost of living crisis only just starting to ease. H&M has already warned of a 10% fall in sales in September as a result of the weather and there is no reason to think that its competitors are experiencing anything different.
None of this is helping a sector that is already fighting battles on multiple fronts as Boohoo’s warning on slumping sales today highlights.
So spare a thought for those benighted fashion retailers next weekend as you bask in a park or by the sea soaking up the rays this weekend.
Back in the benighted high street you will be understandably neglecting there will be a distinct froideur that has nothing to do with the air conditioning.
