The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Early festive boost for retail
Consumers spent more last month as they started their early Christmas shopping and spruced up their homes, according to new figures.
The latest BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Mo n i t o r showed that total sales increased by 5.6% in September.
Separate consumer spending figures from Barclaycard showed a 2% increase, representing the strongest improvement in credit card spending since Fe b r u a r y, before the pandemic fully hit.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said: “September saw a big improvement in retail sales growth, however sales over the last six months are still down on the previous year.”
The BRC-KPMG report revealed the strongest monthly sales growth for retailers since December 2009, as like-for-like UK retail sales grew by 6.1%.
Nevertheless, sales of non- food items fell by 12.3% in stores for the quar ter to the end of September as the high street’s post-virus recovery continues.
Total non- food retail sales increased by 5.2% as shoppers bought more clothing and homeware online over the threemonth period.
Ms Dickinson added: “Tighter coronavirus restrictions have continued to hold back clothing and footwear, particularly as the government further restricts social events.
“With office workers still at home for the foreseeable future, the sales of elec tronics, household goods and home office products have remained high.
“September sales have also given retailers early signs that consumers are starting their Christmas shopping earlier this year, which retailers are encouraging their customers to do in order to manage demand at Christmas and keep people safe.”
The figures also revealed that food sales increased by 5.6% over the three-month period to the end of last month.
B a r c l a y c a r d ’s latest consumer spending data for September also showed that food spending was particularly strong last month, as shoppers stocked up on more essentials amid concerns over tightening lockdown restrictions.
It reported that spending on essential items increased by 6.1%, driven by a 15.4% lift in supermarket shopping , while online shopping boosted clothes sales by 4.2%.