Online fancy dress retailer avoids recession's influence

Monday, May 28, 2012 - 09:24 by Paul Tissington

The UK's economy was harder hit by the double dip recession than many people had initially thought, with a 0.3 per cent contraction registered in the first three months of the year.

However, many outlets offering safe shopping online are actually thriving, in spite of the tough economic climate, according to a report in the Telegraph.

Fancy Dress Ball, which is an e-commerce company headquartered in Yorkshire, which deals in costumes and accessories, reported that revenues were up by over 107 per cent year on year, with growth expected to continue steadily throughout 2012.

At the moment there is high demand for fancy dress costumes, according to MD, Paul Howcroft. He said that the Queen's Jubilee is causing a surge in interest, as people from across the UK use safe shopping online to pick up outfits that have links to eminently British institutions.

As well as a rise in the number of people wanting to dress up like The Spice Girls and Queen front man Freddy Mercury, the retailer has been selling large numbers of items emblazoned with the Union Jack, from top hats to bunting.

Mr Howcroft said that aside from the lower prices, many people were choosing to shop online because there is far more choice than you would get at a high street outlet. He points out that you can pick from 10,000 possible costume combinations, via the Fancy Dress Ball e-commerce outlet, which is far more than could reasonably be squeezed into a bricks and mortar store.

While the recession has made an impact on many areas of the British retail landscape, it seems that the items which are designed to help people have a good time and forget about their worries, are becoming more, not less, popular, nationally.