Shop sales hit as prices rise

HALF a million hard-up households will miss out on an energy price cap. Industry regulator Ofgem last month extended a cap for prepayment meter prices to another one million vulnerable customers, saving the average household £120 a year. The cap applies to households who receive the Warm Home Discount, worth £140 a year. But according to National Energy Action, many low-income households will miss out because they don’t get the Warm Home Discount, even though they are eligible. That’s because this broader group has to apply for the discount and suppliers limit who gets it. The NEA called on the Government to close the loophole as it launched its winter-long Warm Homes Campaign. They have a list of five key demands to boost incomes and reduce costs for the poor over the coldest months of the year. SHOP sales suffered their first annual fall since 2013 last month as prices soared.

The volume of goods bought increased between September and October but was 0.3 per cent lower than a year ago, said the Office for National Statistics.

The value of all those sales jumped 2.8 per cent year-on-year because shops have been whacking up prices, partly to claw back a spike in costs caused by last year’s Brexit vote.

The biggest rise came from food shops which have increased prices by an average of 3.5 per cent since October 2016.

Ruth Gregory, an analyst at consultancy Capital Economics, said sales had been dented by weaker wage growth but added that it wasn’t all doom and gloom. “For a start, with unusually warm weather hitting purchases of winter clothing ranges, there is scope for a rebound over the coming months,” she said.