The British Retail Consortium reported that total sales in the UK fell by 1.9% in March compared to the same month in 2010 in the worst performance since the BRC stared collecting such figures in 1995.
Following a series of profit warnings from retailers in recent weeks the figures paint a bleak picture of conditions on the country’s high streets. Many retailers are struggling to persuade shoppers to buy anything other than essentials in the face of widespread worries about job security and steep rises in the cost of things such as fuel.
