UK Nov high street spending falls for 1st time since Dec 2003
[what is high street? mish]
Tuesday, December 7, 2004 12:16:25 AM
afxpress.com
LONDON (AFX) - High street spending in the UK slumped for the first time in nearly a year in November signalling a very slow start to the Christmas shopping season, going by a key survey of the sector
In its monthly retail sales monitor, the British Retail Consortium said like-for-like sales in November fell by 0.2 pct from the same month last year. The last time a drop was recorded was in December last year, when a similar 0.2 pct fall was registered
Total sales, which includes expansion in floor space, rose 2.4 pct in November compared with a year ago - once again the smallest rise since December last year when growth was 2.3 pct
In October sales rose 0.5 pct for like-on-like sales and 3.0 pct for total sales
The three-month trend rate of growth fell from 1.1 pct in October to 0.8 pct for like-for-like sales, and from 3.7 pct to 3.4 pct for total sales
"Christmas had started slowly, with consumers still cautious about big-ticket purchases, or planning to take advantage of this year's longer pre-Christmas week," BRC said. Stores holding special discount days enjoyed excellent growth during those weeks, especially for clothing, footwear and some home ranges, but others were hit by the strong competition
Meanwhile, food sales were mixed, with some good take-up of promotional offers while others saw sales below expectations. It was another difficult month for electrical and electronic goods. Big-ticket items struggled in the face of housing market and credit worries
BRC Director general, Kevin Hawkins said the latest figures provide further proof that interest rate rises and fears over the future of the housing market, pensions and the economy have created a subdued, cautious mood amongst consumers
However, while November was a tough month, retailers have become used to the bulk of Christmas spending happening much later in December, he added
"Talk of panic sales is premature and retailers will now wait to see if the mood improves and they can catch up lost ground during December," he added |
