Made.com Group PLC on Tuesday lowered its own outlook as consumer purse strings tighten.

Made.com shares fell 38% to 24.00 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.

Gross sales in the first half of 2022 were 19% lower year-on-year, though up 55% from pre-virus levels.

Continental Europe performed stronger than the UK, posting a 67% growth against the first half of 2019, while UK sales grew 45%.

‘Recent trading has been volatile, and the worsening of consumer confidence has impacted demand for discretionary big-ticket items, making new customer acquisition at financially attractive rates challenging,’ the London-based sofa seller cautioned.

Profit for 2022 is expected to take a £20 million one-off hit from clearance work related to excess inventory and additional costs in its supply chain.

‘Inflation costs in the supply chain continue at elevated levels, with freight costs remaining higher than expected and the recent implementation of significant fuel surcharges from carriers,’ Made.com explained.

For 2022, Made now expects gross sales to fall by between 15% to 30%. It had previously expected an outcome ranging from flat sales to a 15% fall.

Revenue guidance has been lowered to a range of a 9% fall to a 24% fall from between 8% growth and a 7% decline previously.

The company added it saw encouraging trading from its re-launch into the Irish market.

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