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January sales on ice

Feb 09 2010

Snow and the VAT increase have been blamed for the worst January sales in 15 years.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said that UK retail sales values fell 0.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis compared to January 2009.

The snow boosted food sales in the first week of January as people stocked up on essentials, but hit non-food items. When the weather improved, food sales slowed.

Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC, says: ‘It was a month of two halves with a focus on must-haves early on. The VAT change brought some sales forward to December, but customers are becoming cautious again in the face of economic and political uncertainty. Retailers will be hoping these results are mainly a snow-induced blip, rather than an indication of further difficulties.’   

However, online sales were 14.6 per cent higher in January compared with a year ago.

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