New research has shown that international sales to the EU by British brands and retailers have fallen by 5.9 billion pounds since the introduction of Brexit, with uneven impact seen across categories.

Among non-food exports, Clothing & Footwear has been one of the most impacted categories, with exports declining from 7.4 billion pounds in 2019 to 2.7 billion pounds in 2023.

This is according to research by economics research consultancy Retail Economics and D2C e-commerce platform Tradebyte, which said that the sharp drop in clothing exports have put “considerable pressure on brands and retailers lacking the necessary expertise, resources or financial capacity to navigate the complexities of the new regulatory landscape”.

In their report, the duo noted that while online retail is anticipated to add 323 billion pounds of annual sales to EU economics, “Brexit-related complexities are curtailing this international sales opportunity for UK-based brands and retailers”.

Challenges include heightened logistics costs, complications in registering an EU trading entity and an increase in delays in a competitive market.

In a release, Richard Lim, CEO of Retail Economics, said: “The profound shift in the UK’s trade relationship with the EU has hit British brands and retailers hard.

“Successive waves of disruption caused by Brexit and the pandemic have significantly disadvantaged UK exporters who are having to navigate through increased friction and cost.”