Retail sales growth static, as food sector suffers |
| Thursday, 20 November 2008 | |
 Growth in food sales volumes at UK stores fell by 0.7% in the last three months, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures. Compared to the previous three months, sales growth in non-food stores remained static, it said. Total sales volumes in the three months to October, the ONS said, were 2.2% higher than the same period last year, which is the slowest year-on-year growth level since April. On Tuesday, mySupermarket.co.uk said the price of staple foods such as bread and beef have risen by 17.8% in the last year. Between September and October, total sales volumes dropped by 0.1%, but volumes in food stores rose 1%. Yet the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said the statistics are at odds with its own figures and fail to convey the real difficulties being witnessed by retailers at present. Director general Stephen Robertson said: "Unexpectedly strong ONS figures suggest sales growth increasing in stark contrast to our own showing total sales actually falling in October. "Given customers and retailers are being squeezed by a whole range of costs and consumer confidence at record lows, few retailers are telling me consumers are spending more." For the three months to October, the ONS said the non-seasonally adjusted value of all sales was 3.2% higher than a year ago. According to the BRC, annual food price inflation fell sharply to 7.5% in October. Related Articles
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