YEAR-on-year growth of UK retail sales value almost ground to a halt in January, amid signs of consumer caution, a survey shows.
And, over the three months to January, year-on-year growth in sales value was the weakest for any festive period since 2009, according to the survey published today by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
The BRC noted, while the 0.1 per cent year-on-year rise in sales value recorded for last month might appear disappointing, January 2016 had been “strong”. UK retail sales value in January 2016 had been up 3.3 per cent on a year earlier.
However, the BRC also cited signs of consumer caution and reports by many retailers of an increase in the number of returns of goods made by consumers in January.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Looking across the last three months, we’ve seen the slowest growth of the festive period since 2009. Closer inspection reveals that this was driven by slowing sales in non-food sectors.”
“These figures suggest that caution was top of new year shopping lists, and the uptick in credit card lending at the end of last year may be short-lived. With the signs pointing to upward pressures on shop prices given rising import costs, all eyes will be on the impact of inflation on consumer spending.”
However, she added: “Retailers are a resilient and innovative bunch. They have become increasingly adept at responding to the challenging environment, and, as a result, the industry has been a key driver of recent UK productivity growth.”
Among the bright spots in January for retailers was the strength of furniture sales. The BRC noted some retailers had also received a boost from Chinese New Year.
UK retail sales value grew by only 1.1 per cent year-on-year in the three months to January. Sales in the non-food category in the three months to January were up only 0.3 per cent on a year earlier.
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