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Press Release

Retail sector 'delicately balanced' ahead of Christmas - ONS figures confirm

16 December 2010

The official ONS retail figures, published today (Thursday), show the tricky trading conditions retailers are operating under as 2010 comes to a close, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said.

The ONS figures show a 3.4 per cent year-on-year increase in sales values, in line with November's BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor, which recorded a 2.8 per cent rise.

Responding to the ONS figures, BRC Director General, Stephen Robertson, said: "These official figures confirm how delicately balanced the retail sector is ahead of Christmas.

"Total sales growth has been weak for eight months now and a third of retailers have told us they're expecting a worse Christmas than last year. What growth there is is largely coming from food sales.

"Shaky consumer confidence, with people worried about their jobs and personal finances, means customers are cutting back on non-essential purchases. Our figures show one in four households have no disposable income left at the end of the month, and that's likely to get worse. Add in the disruption caused to our high streets by the severe winter weather and it all makes for a nail-biting end to the year for retailers."



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British Retail Consortium

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