Shoppers tempted by sales
retail: Beleaguered retailers weathered the snowstorms that swept Britain last month after sales were boosted by shoppers tempted out with new year offers and promotions, figures have shown.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said like-for-like January retail sales grew at the fastest rate since December 2011, up 1.9 per cent on the previous year, as shoppers also bought televisions, tablet computers and smartphones.
BRC director general Helen Dickinson said that, while sales suffered during the cold snap, it was short-lived and failed to cancel out the positive showing across the month.
She said:"People were tempted out by offers and promotions but also treated themselves to full-priced and premium products early in January, particularly must-have technology items. These factors, coupled with recovering consumer confidence, have added up to a more successful January than last year."
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The BRC also said demand for footwear was strong, with Wellington boot sales boosted by the snow.
But demand for cold weather gear, including knitwear hats and scarves, failed to prevent the overall clothing sector posting its worst performance for 14 months, as sales of spring and summer collections suffered and shoppers turned to supermarket ranges.
The surge in online sales growth over Christmas slowed to 10 per cent last month, with the benefits of shopping from home in the snow outweighed by concerns about collecting in-store.
Signs that sales held up in January will be a relief to the retail sector after a troubled few weeks.
It will also boost hopes the UK can avoid a triple-dip recession.
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