September retail sales boom

According to a survey carried out by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), retail sales volumes grew at the fastest pace for two years in the year to September, following a decline in the previous month’s figures.

Of the respondents to the survey, 56% said that sales volumes were up in September compared with a year ago with just 15% stating that they were down, giving a balance of +42% (the highest since September 2015).

Encouragingly, 37% expected growth to continue in October compared to only 14% who expected a decline.

Clothing retailers posted the largest growth with a 75% sales increase, whilst grocers also performed strongly with a rise of 49%.

It remains to be seen how British retailers will fare in the future as the Brexit negotiations continue. According to another recent survey carried out by VoucherCodes, almost one third of retailers anticipated Britain’s exit from the European Union to have a negative impact on business.

One thing that is for sure is that no one can predict the direction the industry is going to head post-Brexit, with retailers being forced to future proof their businesses by concentrating on areas where customer demand remains high.

Please note that this information is provided for general knowledge only and therefore specific advice should be sought for individual cases.

For further information, please contact Philip Mundy