Member Article

High street sales rise in September

High street sales have increased slightly in September, according to a report from CBI, who said this trend will continue into October.

UK retailers experienced increases in sales from last year, as 33% said sales were up, although 27% said sales volumes had fallen.

A balance of 6% increases across the retail sector is in line with industry expectations, and CBI commented that the slight increase was a positive step.

Judith McKenna is the chair of the CBI Distributive Trades Panel and the chief operating officer for Asda.

She said: “It is encouraging that sales on the high street have seen a slight rise in the year to September, and that retailers expect growth to pick up further next month.

“However, while the squeeze on family budgets may have eased in the short term thanks to the fall in inflation, on-going economic fragility, reflecting uncertainty around the international outlook, could affect household spending later in the year.”

Wholesalers suffered from flat sales volumes, although September’s 2% decrease was an improvement on falling sales for the previous two months.

Motor traders saw further drops of 12% despite predictions that the industry would pick up by 4%.

In the retail sector, grocers enjoyed their fifth consecutive month of sales rises, which amounted to a 55% increase year-on-year.

Chemists reported a 19% rise, while footwear and leather sales rose 34% and non-store sales went up by 21%.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .