ONS – FASTEST NON-FOOD PRICE FALLS FOR 20 YEARS SHOW SCALE OF DISCOUNTING 

24th April 2008

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said today’s official retail sales figures paint an overly rosy picture of the sector’s performance.

The BRC disputes the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) claim that “Underlying growth in retail sales remain robust,” saying the three-month average for sales volume growth disguises a fall last month and hides the fact that sales are being driven by deep and widespread discounting. 

Stephen Robertson, Director General, British Retail Consortium, said:

“These figures paint an overly rosy picture. Sales growth is far from robust. ONS’ own figures show non-food prices falling at the fastest rate for more than 20 years, showing it is taking deep and widespread price-cutting to tempt customers to buy anything other than non-essentials. 

“The BRC’s March figures show total sales up only 1.1 per cent on a year ago, largely explained by rising food prices, while like-for-like sales are down on a year ago for the first time in two years.

“With recent retail profit warnings, it’s clear trading is extremely tough but retailers are fighting back by keeping prices low and delivering extra value.”