BRC reveals underwhelming retail sales

Feb 7 BRC reveals underwhelming retail sales

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed that retail sales fell in January, with consumers instead opting to use their money to pay off Christmas debts and save money.

As a result of the more frugal approach from consumers, retail sales values fell 0.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis in January.

This was, the BRC confirmed, the second worst January since the survey started 17 years ago.

Reflecting on the underwhelming sales performance, Stephen Robertson, BRC director general, said: "Customers parked their worries in December and spent, encouraged by discounts.

"Now, in the new year, reality has bitten again as concerns about jobs, wages and household costs reassert themselves."

He added that while consumer confidence actually improved in January, spending figures prove that households are focussing their intentions on "paying off debt, saving and battening down for another tough year".

By contrast, recent figures show that the value of retail sales in Scotland grew by 3.5 per cent last year.

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