Retail sales still shaky
Oct 27 2011
Retail sales are still unpredictable despite being predicted to grow next month
Retailers expect sales growth next month, but sales are still down on last year, research finds.
According to the Confederation of British Industry’s monthly Distributive Trades Survey of 134 companies including 78 retailers and 44 wholesalers, sales volumes are expected to increase by 4 per cent in November.
Year on year, however, the figures are more negative, with a quarter (24 per cent) of companies seeing sales volumes rise on last year, but 36 per cent reporting a fall, giving a rounded balance of -11 per cent.
The volume of sales is poor for the time of the year (-34 per cent), and is the lowest since May 2009 (-36 per cent). Sales volumes in most sub-sectors declined; there were particularly rapid falls in footwear and leather (-98 per cent), hardware and DIY (-75 per cent) and clothing (-39 per cent).
But the grocery and furniture and carpets sectors saw their sales volumes increase on a year ago (+11 per cent and +34 per cent respectively), compared to (-3 per cent and -59 per cent) last month.
CBI chief economic adviser Ian McCafferty says, ‘High street sales remain difficult but the decline has stabilised, and retailers expect there to be some modest growth next month in the build-up to Christmas.
‘High-street retailers are heavily discounting as they aim to provide the best possible value on basics, but consumers will continue on the back foot as real incomes remain squeezed.’
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