Retail sales rise

News Article - Thursday, September 18, 2008

filed under: Business

Retail sales figures for August show an increase of 3.3 per cent for the same month in 2007, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Despite the poor economic climate, which had analysts predicting a 0.5 per cent drop, many retailers will have found themselves with stronger business results.

The back-to-school season helped clothing and shoe retailers to lead the way, but food sales saw a drop of 0.2 per cent.

However, despite a rise in both monthly and annual ONS figures, sales in the three months to August dropped 0.8 per cent compared with the previous three months, marking the largest drop since November 1990.

"With consumer confidence plunging in the wake of soaring inflation, falling asset values and rising unemployment the official retail sales will inevitably correct lower," said James Knightley, ING economist.

Last week, the British Retail Consortium said that the retail sector was facing its worst conditions in three years.

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