Latest CBI survey showed that 51% of retailers said that sales volumes were up, whilst 16% said they were down, giving a balance of +35%. Ben Jones, CBI Principal Economist, said: “It’s encouraging to see retailers reporting another month of healthy sales growth leading up to the festive season, which rounds off a fairly solid quarter.“
“While we still expect to see decent growth in the near term, the pressures on retail activity are likely to increase during 2017, as the impact of sterling’s depreciation feeds through. With higher inflation beginning to weigh on households’ purchasing power, consumption patterns are likely to shift, creating winners and losers across the retail landscape.”
