Globally, Department Store Sales Declined 1.6% in 2023

Miles Socha

Mon, March 24, 2025 at 2:04 PM UTC

2 min read

Sales at 59 department stores worldwide dropped by an average of 1.6 percent in 2023 due to market uncertainty and slow economic growth, according to the International Association of Department Stores.
Stand-alone department stores in the U.S. performed better than those owned by a group, showing flat to slightly positive year-on-year growth in 2023.
Only department stores in India and the Philippines in the Asia-Pacific region saw a positive sales trend, while European department stores experienced increases of less than 1 percent, with group-owned stores contributing more to parent companies' total retail sales.

Sales at 59 department stores around the world fell on average 1.6 percent in 2023, according to tabulations by the International Association of Department Stores.

In a release Monday, the IADS blamed "significant market uncertainty, slow economic growth and unfavorable interest rate environments" for weighing on numbers that year, the most recent data available.

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The negative sales trend contrasts with growth in 2021 and 2022, the post-COVID-19 peak, and "growth has now stabilized across the retail sector."

In 2023, the IADS noted that stand-alone department stores in the U.S. fared better than ones owned by a group, registering flat to slightly positive year-on-year growth.

In Asia-Pacific, only department stores in India (Shopper's Stop and Lifestyle) and the Philippines (SM and Robinsons Retail) registered a positive sales trend.

Meanwhile, department stores in Europe logged increases of less than 1 percent, with department stores owned by groups contributing a higher share than pre-COVID-19 to their parent companies' total retail sales.

Looking ahead, the IADS cited uncertainty headlined by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff-led economic policy, and a possible U.S. ban of TikTok, deemed "an essential media channel that drives trends and influences consumer behavior in the fashion industry."

Meanwhile, Galeries Lafayette is slated to open its first department store in Mumbai this year, in partnership with Aditya Birla Group, with a second in Delhi to follow in 2026. Vietnam is also seen as a key emerging market.

The IADS said it isolates the impact of sales growth from exchange-rate impacts, with financial data refined and harmonized over the calendar year 2023 to provide a comparable basis.

The organization counts 15 members, including Beijing Hualian Group, Bloomingdale's, Boyne, Breuninger, Chalhoub Group, El Corte Inglés, El Palacio de Hierro, Galeries Lafayette and Magasin du Nord.

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