Central London retail sales receive boost

According to the latest data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), retail sales in the capital have experienced a 6.5 percent year-on-year increase, which is positive news after four consecutive months of falling sales on a like-for-like basis.

In the course of January, it seems as though many consumers have taken the plunge and made the purchases that they had been putting off for months increasing the fear of deflation.

Shoppers have been tempted by huge price reductions, mainly in the capital, which outperformed the rest of the UK, even though retail footfall was down in January compared to December.

Clearance sales attracted both UK shoppers and foreign visitors who were looking to taking advantage of the weak pound and London’s credit crunched retail sector.

Joscelyne Hynard, an analyst at the BRC, said that despite the increase in sales, once the clearance and discounted items are accounted for, there is still a weak demand and uncertain consumer confidence as the disposable income for UK shoppers is still falling.

In this regard the increase in retail sales was boosted by a combination of visitors from the euro zone and heavy discounting.

The heavy snowfall and unprecedented weather at the beginning of this month is also likely to have an impact on this month’s taking as well.

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