The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is confident retailers will enjoy a better Christmas than last year despite figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing a slowdown in growth between October and November 2009.
Richard Lim, British Retail Consortium economist, said: “Growth was weaker than a strong October but that’s largely due to the amount spent on food going up more slowly as customers benefited from food prices rising more slowly.
“Consumer confidence can’t be taken for granted but generally customers are feeling more positive than a year ago. Considering Bank of England interest rate cuts can take up to 18 months to feed through, some of this is certainly the cumulative effects of lower mortgage rates now supporting spending.
“Worries remain for the New Year – about jobs and taxes in particular – but most retailers are now reasonably sure of a better Christmas than last year’s dire performance.”
