Retail sales figures disappointing for November
December 18, 2009
The Office for National Statistics has just published a report which shows that retail sales in November unexpectedly fell by 0.3 percent. The announcement is bad news for retailers who had initially said that they thought performance in November had been good. The figure suggests that shoppers are still being wary about spending their money even during the run up to Christmas.
The Office for National Statistics pointed out that it was due to the poor performance of department stores, clothes shops and shoe retailers that the figures for November were not better. Consumer spending in other areas did however show some improvement. People tended to spend more money on household goods and food.
One argument for the disappointing retail figures has been put forward by Howard Archer who works for IHS Global Insight. He suggests that people are reticent about spending their money now as they believe that there will be better bargains to be had after Christmas. He went on to point out that a public unwillingness to spend their money with high street retailers is likely to hold back any growth next year. Mr. Archer went on to say that because of low inflation and low interest rates on mortgages many people in the U.K. are feeling better off than they have for a while. He said that the reason that this has not translated into more money being spent in the retail sector may be because people are keeping an eye out for future changes such as VAT going up in January.
Related Posts
Comments
Got something to say?
Advertisement
