UK retail sales show modest rise surprise

UK retail sales values rose 1.1% on a like-for-like basis compared to January 2008, according to the BRC, this was the best performance since May, when sunny weather had boosted sales.

Food sales showed stronger growth up by 5.1%. Non-food sales remained down on a year ago by some 1.6%. Sales were driven by widespread discounting in clearance sales. Despite this clothing, footwear, homewares and health and beauty sales remained down on a year ago.

After a good start to January, sales growth then weakened as clearances ended. Shoppers took advantage of good deals, but many purchases were replacements and essentials rather than discretionary extras.

Stephen Robertson, Director General, British Retail Consortium, said:
“These surprisingly good figures give some room for optimism. But the fundamentals haven't changed. Job fears are mounting. Consumer confidence is at record lows. It remains to be seen whether January’s discount driven growth was just a blip."

BRC-KPMG Retail Sales monitor January 2009: Sales rise surprise