The British Retail Consortium (BRC) released the Retail Sales Monitor (RSM) for December 2005. It stated that late but welcome Christmas present for retailers.
Retail sales in the UK during December rose 2.6 percent on a like-for-like basis from December 2004 when sales fell 0.4 percent. December's gain was the largest since the 3.7 percent gain in May 2004, and the best December since 2001.
Clothing and footwear measured a little from November.
The three-month trend rate of growth improved in December to 0.2 percent from -0.1 percent in November for like-for-like sales, and to 4.1 percent from 3.8 percent for total sales. Like-for-like sales in 2005 averaged a 0.4 percent fall, against a 1.7 percent gain in 2004.
Sales picked up strongly in the week before Christmas, and continued in the first two days of the post-Christmas sales, but then dropped back markedly. Food sales remained good.
Shoppers remain very value-conscious and took advantage of the widespread promotions and sales discounts. Underlying trade for major purchases is still tough, with sales driven heavily by promotions.
Kevin Hawkins, Director General, BRC comments: “These are significantly better results than most forecasters were expecting, although the BRC sales figures for October and November indicated a slight improvement in consumer spending. Underlying conditions, however, are still very tough and the first quarter of 2006 looks challenging, despitebeing up against weak comparatives in 2004”
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TSllC Ltd)")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF)")
