Hike in January retail sales

20 February 2009 10:28am

Cut-price clothes and footwear offers helped drive an unexpected 0.7% hike in January retail sales.

Sales of non-food goods rose by 1.6% between December and January amid the traditional clearance discounting, which helped offset a 1% fall in food stores, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The month-on-month rise in total sales was higher than the 0.2% increase expected by experts, but echoes other recent survey results.

The British Retail Consortium also reported a surprise increase in January sales figures earlier this month, when it showed heavy discounting drove the best high street performance since May.

The clothing, textiles and footwear sector enjoyed a 6.1% hike in the number of sales last month, said the ONS.

But heavy discounting left the value of sales in non-food stores down by 1.6% in the three months to January.

Department stores were hit hardest as they slashed prices to lure in shoppers, seeing the value of sales drop 2.6%.

Food shops increased prices after hefty pre-Christmas declines, resulting in a 1% rise in value.

Three-month figures, which are seen as being less volatile, showed total sales volumes rose by 1.5%.

And the ONS revealed that it had also revised the figure for December higher, to 1.7% from the previous 1.6% recorded, which had already defied expectations for a fall in sales volumes.

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