UK retail sales values were down 0.4% on a like-for-like basis from February 2010, when sales had risen 2.2%, according to the latest British Retail Consortium (BRC) report.
On a total basis, sales were 1.1% higher, against a 4.5% increase in February 2010.
Food sales picked up after a weaker January but non-food sales slowed sharply. Consumers’ underlying uncertainty about jobs and incomes resurfaced, hitting clothing, footwear and homewares. Big-ticket purchases suffered most and were often promotion-led.
Stephen Robertson, BRC director general, said:“Apart from a bit of help from half-term for some retailers, February’s sales were weak. Other than the negative figures last April (caused by the year-to-year movement of Easter), this February’s 1.1% total sales growth is the poorest since May 2009– even poorer when the impact of the VAT rise on inflation is taken into account.
“After the big boost to January’s figures from one-off factors, including a strong final burst of pre-VAT rise spending, February’s figures are a return to a more realistic picture of how things are for customers and retailers.
“Against this background of deteriorating sales, the BRC has written to the Chancellor urging him to use his Budget to support retail’s essential contribution to jobs and growth by avoiding new burdens and removing existing ones.”
Source: BRC
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