UK shops saw a 0.7% decrease from last year
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The UK high street had its worst January for 15 years as the snow kept shoppers at home and nursed their Christmas spending expenditures.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show that retail sales values fell 0.7% from this time last year. The weather and increase in VAT are the most likely explanation, as consumers stayed indoors and goods were made more expensive.
Grocery sales rose as people stocked up on essentials to stay indoors, with clothes and footwear making a partial come-back once the weather improved.
Internet, mail-order and phone sales retailers were the most successful during this period and people spent from home to avoid going out in the cold. They saw a 14.6% increase year-on-year, compared with 26.5% in December.
Stephen Robertson, head of BRC, said: “This is the worst January sales growth in the 15 years we’ve been running our survey. The coldest January since 1987 food sales at the start of the month but sales melted in the snow.”
The homewares industry has seen the most of the spending decline, as home goods and furniture stay in the shops.
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