UK: Retail sales decline for fifth consecutive month

LONDON (dpa -AFX) – British retail suffered another setback in September. Sales were 0.2 percent lower than the previous month, according to the ONS Statistics Office in London on Friday. This is the fifth consecutive decline in sales. This is the longest period of sales decline since the surveys began.
Analysts were surprised by this development. They expected an average increase of 0.6 percent. Revised sales in the pre-assembly period fell 0.6 percent (previously 0.9) and 2.9 percent in July compared to a month earlier.

Darren Morgan, director of ONS Economic Statistics, commented on the data that “despite the deregulation, brick and mortar retailing is included.” In his assessment, many consumers still choose to shop online.

Helen Dickinson, a spokeswoman for the British Retailers’ Association, described the weak sales growth as “fuel shortages, wet weather and low consumer confidence.” Accordingly, sales of home appliances, furniture and books were particularly affected.

Despite the recent downturn, wholesale retail sales are still higher than they were before the February 2020 crisis. However, the annual statistics agency reported a decline of 1.3 percent for September./jkr/jha/

Source: dpa-AFX