08/02/2011 - Retail boosted by January shoppers
January retail sales were boosted by shoppers eager to hit the high street after their enforced exile at home due to the winter weather, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Cooped up for days on end because of the snow, shoppers found the January clearance sales too hard to resist as they spent heavily prior to the January 4 VAT increase, before remaining cautious for the rest of the month.
Subsequently, like-for-like retail sales were up 2.3% year-on-year in January, which is the strongest growth month since March last year and a substantial improvement on the 0.3% year-on-year decline seen in snow-struck December.
UK retailers had a festive season to forget as Arctic conditions kept shoppers at home, with high street companies like Next and HMV reporting a slump in sales.
But the BRC's January retail sales monitor does not give a complete picture as it compares with a feeble, snow-hit performance last year.
Stephen Robertson, BRC director general, said: "Growth this January was driven by a relatively short but strong burst of non-food buying early in the month.
"Clearance discounts and a last chance to beat the VAT rise got people buying things like furniture and electricals in the first few days."
He added: "Later in the month sales of non-food goods slowed, particularly for bigger items, as the reality of worries about jobs and personal finances returned to customers' minds."
Copyright © Press Association 2011
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