Next expected to reveal sales momentum despite consumer pressure
Next is expected to report further growth for the past quarter as the high street chain continues to shrug off the squeeze on consumer finances.
Shares in the company lifted on Friday to a new record high as investors continue to buy into the group.
The company has been a consistent bright spot across the retail sector in recent years, posting robust trading despite cost-of-living pressures and higher operating costs.
The fashion retailer, which runs 899 stores, is set to report on its trading for the past three months on Wednesday October 29.
It is expected to show continued sales growth although this could see a slowdown compared with the first half of the financial year.
In an update last month, bosses at Next said full price sales are on track to grow by 4.5 per cent over the half-year to January 2026, compared with a year earlier.
It comes after the company said full price sales grew by 10.9 per cent in the half-year to July, with total sales up 10.3 per cent.
The projected slowdown in growth came as chief executive and Conservative peer Lord Simon Wolfson indicated that consumer sentiment was cooling in the face of economic uncertainty and rising unemployment.
“The medium to long-term outlook for the UK economy does not look favourable,” he said in September.
“To be clear, we do not believe the UK economy is approaching a cliff edge. At best we expect anaemic growth.”
However, industry data has pointed to resilient recent retail sales despite this.
Next shares were boosted by data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which showed that retail sales volumes grew by 0.5% in September.
It came despite analysts predicting a decline for the month and marked the fourth consecutive month of growth.
Investors will therefore be hopeful that this points to resilient consumer spending habits.
Michael Hewson at MCH Market Insights said: “We’ve seen another decent quarter for Next shareholders with the share price posting a new record high this month, despite concerns over a continued squeeze on consumer incomes.
“When Next reported back at the end of July there was some scepticism that the retailer would be able to carry on its recent trend of raising its guidance that has been the hallmark of a lot of its recent trading numbers.”
By Henry Saker-Clark, PA Deputy Business Editor