High streets lose out to those shopping on the net
December 9, 2009
Record internet sales figures are highlighting the fact that the high streets are performing more poorly than expected this Christmas. On the internet’s busiest day of the year, Cyber Monday, credit card fraud specialists ReD say that in just one minute internet sales hit £1.4 million. Over lunchtime on Monday 7th December consumers managed to spend £33 million in one hour whilst online. Compared with last year the figures represented a seventeen percent growth in internet shopping.
The countries high streets did not fare so well with sales figures up by only 1.8 percent on those recorded in November last year. Stephen Robertson, director general of the British Retail Consortium said that the U.K. was the only country still desperately trying to pull itself out of recession and that worries over jobs and tax increases are continuing to make people cautious about spending. Mr. Robertson was keen to point out that the November sales figures were not as bad as they first appeared because a slowing down in the inflation on food prices was keeping numbers low.
Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG said that contrary to how the figures looked the high streets had done quite well and that many high street retailers could afford to be confident. She pointed out that just six months ago experts were predicting far worse for the Christmas period.
Robertson said that even though consumer confidence might not be as high as it could be there are still shopping days left before Christmas and everything was still to play for.
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