“Notwithstanding the sales growth seen in the last couple of months, underlying trading conditions are tough for retailers. We expect the squeeze on real pay for households to last a while longer, so retailers will still face challenging conditions ahead. The Government’s Industrial Strategy is a good start for boosting productivity and living standards, but consistency and determination is needed to make it a long-lasting success.”
CBI Realized Sales survey showed balance of +20%
Retail sales rose in the year to December, building further on November’s solid performance, according to the latest monthly CBI Distributive Trades Survey. 37% of retailers said that sales volumes were up in December on a year ago, whilst 17% said they were down, giving a balance of +20%. Growth was slower than expected (+30%), and slightly slower than in November (+26%). Alpesh Paleja, CBI Principal Economist, said: “Retailers have seen decent growth heading into the vital Christmas trading period, although it was weaker than expected. It’s clear that people are stocking up on food for their Christmas lunch, with grocers’ sales driving most of the sales growth seen in December.
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