"After a stronger-than-expected December, these latest [retail sales] figures are rather sobering"
- Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG
U.K. retail sector contracted in January as shoppers limited their spending ahead of a difficult year. Retails sales dropped 0.3 per cent in January from the same period last year when they rose 2.2 per cent, the British Retail Consortium announced on Tuesday.
"As 2012 gets underway, it's clear people don't feel any better about the immediate future than they did 12 months ago," said Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC.
"Customers parked their worries in December and spent, encouraged by discounts. Now, in the New Year, reality has bitten again as concerns about jobs, wages and household costs reassert themselves."
"After a stronger-than-expected December, these latest figures are rather sobering," said Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG. "The return to negative like-for-like sales reflects the trend seen throughout most of 2011 and is a stark reminder of the challenges facing retailers."
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