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February retail sales skewed by weather
Like-for-like sales value up 2.2%
According to the latest BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor, UK retail sales value was up 2.2% on a like-for-like basis compared to February 2009, but the figures were boosted by comparison with a very weak sales performance in February 2009, and by a recovery following the snow in January which had postponed non-food purchases
Although the figures, on the face of it, show a return to reasonable growth, BRC director general Stephen Robertson warned that the results for February are “not that strong. The growth,” he added, “is compared with very weak figures a year ago when February saw the worst of last winter's weather and this February's performance was helped by sales postponed from January – particularly sales of non-food items. Consumer confidence is certainly up on this time last year but, with unemployment rising again, spending plans are falling. When the weather-related distortions are stripped away, it's clear customers are still cautious."
Sales of non-food items via the internet, mail order and telephone were up 15.5% compared to February 2009. Sharon Hardiman, Head of Non-Store Retailing at BRC, commented: "This is good growth. The range of goods and retailers available online is still expanding and customers are steadily becoming more comfortable with this way of shopping. Non-store retailing is only a small corner of overall retailing, taking just over a twentieth of total spending. The internet is not immune from the current uncertainty but the negative effects are outweighed by its continuing march forward."
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