10/11/2010 - October sees slow sales growth
Retail sales growth went up slightly in the UK during the last month as a result of food prices rising, however, customer confidence remained low during the same period, according to a report.
Like-for-like sales went up by 0.8% in terms of value in October, an increase from 0.5% in September, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said.
However, the rise was a result of higher food price inflation, and sales of non-food items did not make particular progress during the month.
The BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor pointed out that clothing sales figures had dropped for the first time in almost 12 months, with customers wary of spending on such large purchases.
Consumer caution also affected "big ticket" item sales, and mail order and internet sales growth slowed down compared with September, up 12.8% last month.
The BRC said there was some optimism for Christmas as sales began to improve during the second half of October.
Helen Dickinson, head of retail for KPMG, said: "Most retailers are not expecting a record-breaking Christmas this year but will be hoping that demand picks up a bit over the coming weeks and are quietly hopeful that this may be the case given that the second half of October was stronger than the first.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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