Marks Electrical flags caution over sales outlook amid consumer pull-back

The group said while it has seen a World Cup boost for televisions and sound systems, overall consumer confidence was ‘weak’.

Marks Electrical has said it is taking a more “cautious” outlook over annual sales and profitability as consumers rein in spending in the face of cost of living and unemployment worries.

The group said while it has seen a recent World Cup boost for televisions and sound systems, overall consumer confidence was “weak”.

It put this down to “the level of UK inflation, interest rates and unemployment all impacting net disposable income, along with concerns around the impact from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East on the cost of living”.

Shares fell 7% as the group said it was “taking a more cautious outlook for the year ahead on sales growth and gross margin”.

It comes after the UK competition watchdog on Thursday ordered Marks Electrical to refund almost 40,000 customers and pay a £720,000 fine after the retailer automatically opted customers into extra services without their agreement.

Marks will pay affected customers an average of £15 each – totalling around £600,000 – after it automatically signed them up to either its “Recycle Old Appliance” or “Unwrap & Recycle Packaging” service, or both.

The Competition and Markets Authority found Marks Electrical charged those customers for the services without their express agreement.

Full year results on Friday showed Marks Electrical narrowed pre-tax losses to £366 million for the year to March 31, against losses of £1.7 million the previous year.

Revenues dropped 7.9% as the firm said it “strategically” cut back its marketplace presence to focus on trading through its own website and internal telesales.

But it said results improved over the final six months of trading, with sales rising 5% in the second half.

Mark Smithson, chief executive of Marks Electrical, said: “After a challenging first half, we were able to deliver an improved second half performance thanks to our disciplined focus on margin and operational cost management.

“We are well positioned heading into 2026-27 with positive trading momentum and a strengthened cash position.

“We do however remain mindful of the well-documented macro-economic factors within the UK around inflation, interest rates and current unemployment levels, all of which create trading headwinds that we have to navigate to the best of our ability.”