Retail sales at its July worst, says study

Retail sales at its July worst, says study

	Published : Tue, 09 Aug 2005 17:05 By : Cedric Benson Print this Story

LONDON: Retail sales were at its July worst in a decade last month, according to a survey by the British Retail Consortium. Sales on a like-for-like basis are shown to have fallen 1.9 per cent compared to the corresponding previous year period and it gave the the worst reading for July since 1995, said the study. Total sales, however, went up by 2 per cent, a trend maintained throughout the year till now.

Th authors of the survey pointed out that the drop has not been as bad as expected in the wake of the July bombings and the attempted attacks.

Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG LLP, which compiles the report for the Consortium, said "Commentators and many retailers alike thought that the impact of events in London coupled with a deteriorating trend throughout the year could have been much worse. We did see a fall in customer traffic across the month, but those that did venture out found good value in the promotions being offered."

The Consortium felt the fall in sales is more due to bad weather than the bomb attacks.

The findings are in line with a survey by the Confederation of British Industry survey, which showed that shoppers were not very much concerned about the bombings.

Normally July accounts for good retail sales as the school holidays start and many traders announce discounts. This year, however, several store owners had the discounting opened in June itself but bad weather kept several prospective shoppers confined to indoors.

The Consortium's director general Kevin Hawkins said while the recent cut in interest rates by Bank if England, it will take several months for there to be any significant effect on consumer spending. "More cuts are needed between now and Christmas."

Meanwhile, another survey carried out by consultancy firm Footfall also showed a drop in sales by 1.1 per cent in July compared with June and 1.8 per cent compared with July of 2004. The firm felt the drop was not as much as it was expecting, considering all the external influences during the month.

The Consortium said furniture, floor coverings and large appliances were the hardest hit. Food and drinks performed well, may be because of the warmer weather.