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High Street Sales Fall
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed that Britain’s high street sales slumped last month after a brief revival in May as consumers increasingly tighten their budgets to help with debt management.
The BRC published data which showed a 0.4 fall in like-for-like sales last month and the last three months saw a total fall of 0.03 per cent.
In June, overall sales increased by just 2.1 per cent.
The organisation said that the only sector which recorded a growth in sales was food and drink, while the clothing and footwear sector slumped back again, despite a boost in May from the short-lived sunny spell.
The BRC warned that poor weather last month, plus the pressure on household finances and caused by the credit crunch, had scuppered the sales growth indicated in May. Perhaps this can also be seen as a sign that people are heeding debt advice.
For three of the past four months now, overall high street sales have been lower than at the same time last year.
Leading retailer John Lewis revealed recently that its sales have fallen by 1.3 per cent, the eighth weekly decline in a row.
The high street trader added that the overall annual fall in sales was even lower than the previous week’s drop of 8.3 per cent, despite the beginning of its clearance sale.
BRC director general Stephen Robertson said that the fall in sales last month supported fears that May's small increase was merely a "start-of-summer blip”.
"Retailers are doing all they can to reassure customers with some of the strongest discounts and promotions in decades," he added.
Accountancy firm KPMG head of retail Helen Dickinson said: “Although total retail sales grew by 2.1 per cent in June, they continue to be impacted both by food inflation and the wider economic climate.
"Consumers are managing their budgets carefully to mitigate the effects of these inflationary pressures and the food retailers continue to focus on keeping consumer prices down through high-profile promotional activity, despite the increase in oil and commodity prices."
Debt Management News posted on 06 August 2008
