Sofa so little change to slow sales growth

Furniture was again the main contributor to slow retail growth in February.

The latest British Retail Consortium – KPMG Retail Sales Monitor showed that after a record of +16 in January, the major purchase index stepped back to +12 in February.

Some retailers noticed a switch from large items to home accessories items – yet most respondents were pleased with their furniture performance.

Overall, hopes for a strong start to the year for the high street faded after February figures showed retail sales growth slowed almost to a standstill.

Like-for-like sales grew by just 0.1% last month the same as February 2015.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Competition remained strong in the grocery