9th Feb 10
Big freeze leads to record low trading for 15 years
by Harry Oldfield
Figures released recently have shown that British shops have suffered their worst January trading month in 15 years, in what has been described as an ominous signal for the year ahead, according to fiures from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG.
The poor performance came as a result from the heavy snowfalls and the increase in VAT back to 17.5 per cent, however it was still the poorest performing January result since 1995, when the BRC and KPMG sales monitor was first compiled.
December however saw the best results since 2001.
Director general of the BRC, Stephen Robertson said the coldest January since 1987 boosted food sales at the beginning of the month as shoppers stocked up, however food sales growth melted with the snow.
The freezing weather also took its toll on activity in the housing market, which is the biggest influence on retail spending. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said that a net balance of 32 per cent of its members had noted that property prices went up last month, but blamed the extreme weather for a drop in buying and selling activity.
Retails chain Marks & Spencer has been warning for quite some time now that 2010 will be a difficult year, as shoppers’ finances remain under pressure amid fears of further tax rises and job losses, particularly in the public sector after the general election, expected in May.
A retail expert from PricewaterhouseCoopers said that the only consensus was that no one knew what would happen in 2010.
Our Stories
- SuperGroup issues profits warning
- Summer bookings boost for TUI Travel
- Consumers cut back in January following Christmas surge
- BT to introduce ultra-fast broadband
- Retail veteran warns of high street death spiral
- Tesco exec who sold shares moved from role
- Tesco market share slips
- UK consumer confidence recovers
- Gary Speed talked of suicide before death
- Tesco scraps carbon-label pledge
- UK university applicant numbers fall 8.7%
- Stelios blasts easyJet bonuses
Popular Topics
afghanistan al qaeda Apple ASDA bank of england barack obama BBC british airways china david cameron Debenhams Egypt facebook george osborne Google India ipad iphone ivory coast japan Libya London M&S Marks & Spencer Morrisons nhs North Korea Office for National Statistics pakistan protests russia sainsburys Sainsbury’s South Korea terrorism Tesco Tunisia UK UK retailers UK retail news UK shopping us Waitrose Wikileaks x factorArchive
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- January 2009
