Central London retail sales decline in Sept says BRC

17 Oct '05

3 min read

Trade association British Retail Consortium reported London Retail Sales Monitor (RSM) of September 2005.

- Retail sales in Central London during September were 2.3% lower, on a like-for-like basis, than in September 2004, when sales also fell by 0.7%.

- September's result was better than the 11.5% drop in August which was the worst since the London Retail Sales Monitor began in October 2002. However, the average monthly change so far this year is a 2.0% decrease, against a 3.2% increase for the same months of 2004.

- The three-month trend rate of growth in September weakened to a 7.3% decrease from 5.9% in August.

- Campaigns and promotions to attract shoppers had a modest impact. Tourists and daytrippers are still wary of coming into London, but those that did come appear to have spent money in the shops rather than just browsing.

- London sales have been substantially worse than sales in the UK in each of the last three months.

Kevin Hawkins, LRC Director comments that this is obviously a welcome step up from the appalling level reported in August. However, like-for-like sales are still in worrying territory and this is against a soft comparative in September 2004. The campaign to get shoppers back into central London succeeded in attracting the crowds, but unfortunately the takings did not match the increase in visitor numbers. The reluctance of some UK and overseas tourists to visit the Capital is still a concern and footfall is still below where it should be.

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