The short trading day month of November saw subdued sales for merchants with the lowest total sales in 10 months.
Year-on-year
Total builders’ merchant value sales in November 2019 were down 7.4% compared with the same month in 2018. On one fewer trading day, average sales a day dropped 3%.
The following categories were particularly affected: tools (-12.7%), timber and joinery (-9.6%), ironmongery (-8%), heavy building materials (-7.9%) and landscaping (-7.4%).
The best performing sectors in November 2019 compared with the same period in 2018 were renewables and water saving (+5.3%) and work wear and safety wear (+3.7%).
Month-on-month
Compared with October 2019, November’s sales were down by 10%. However, when adjusted for two fewer trading days in November, the drop was less severe at 1.4%.
All product categories were down monthon- month, including heavy building materials (-10.9%), timber and joinery (-10%) and ironmongery (-9.8%).
Adjusted for trading days, the strongest performing sectors were work wear and safety wear (+9.3%) and kitchens and bathrooms (+8%).
Other periods
Sales in the 12 months December 2018 to November 2019 were down by 0.2% on the same period last year. However, adjusting for one fewer trading day year-to-date, sales are slightly ahead at +0.2%.
Index
November’s BMBI index was 113.4, with plumbing, heating and electrical the highest at 134.6. The timber and joinery index for November was 114.7.
