Disastrous Q4 data for UK watch market

GfK, a global leader in consumer and market intelligence, has released some key findings from Q4 of 2025, as well as the whole calendar year.

The data makes for fairly grim reading for the UK (excluding Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands), with both sales value and sales volume down year-on-year for both the whole of 2025 and Q4.

The data shows a particularly brutal Q4, with total sales value down 10.2% compared with the same period in 2024. This can be blamed on any combination of: market confidence, rising unemployment, US tariffs (and the price rises that have followed them), and business rates worry on the high street.

When taken in isolation, online sales fared a little better, with sales volume up 1% across the whole calendar year, and sales value up 0.1%.