UK retail sales rise

After a real fear that the Christmas downturn had left retailers struggling, there has been a real boost today after the latest figures for January are positive.

After very heavy discounting in the January sales, there has been a huge surge in takings on the high street.

Online retailers have been in pole position to take advantage of the credit crunch and the position of most of the shoppers has been to look out for the best bargain with the internet the first port of call.

The high street has responded as store sales were up 1.1 percent compared to the same month last year, and it is also good news for new stores which have posted a 3.2 percent increase.

On further analysis of the results, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed that in the main, economic conditions are still weak and that the rise in January could still be a ‘blip‘.

The increase, in part, can be attributed to strong food sales. Once the clearances end, there is still likely to be a shortfall next month, as even in January, the sales for clothing, footwear, homewares, and health and beauty products all fell, said the BRC.

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