Retail Insights
The November report (December pending) from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) talks about a slight uplift in sales for November but draws attention, as illustrated in the graph, to the fact retail sales are declining. Reuters reported UK retailers had a weak December, and the British Retail Consortium (BCR) confirmed footfall was down throughout December, negating hopes of a golden quarter. Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO LLP, stated that these results were the worst since records began, with negative in-store sales in the three consecutive months up to Christmas. “The seriousness of these results should not be underestimated,” she warned. You can download the full report from their website here.