Experts surmise that last month’s cold weather and continued constraints from the cost of living deterred consumers. According to the British Retail Consortium, although January sales did increase spending in the first two weeks of the post-Christmas season, the trend did not continue.
According to numbers released by KPMG and the British Retail Consortium (BRC), total retail sales in the UK grew by just 1.2% year over year in January of this year, a significant decline from the 4.2% rise recorded during the same period previous year.
According to separate data from Barclaycard, consumer card spending increased by just 3.1% in the same month last year.
It said that Brits were “embracing nights in” by watching TV shows like The Traitors and blamed the recent cold weather, which included Storm Isha and Storm Jocelyn, for discouraging shoppers from visiting high streets.
The first two weeks of the post-Christmas period saw a rise in spending because to January sales discounts, according to the BRC, however the trend was “not sustain[ed] throughout the month”.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive officer, stated: “Larger purchases, such as furniture, household appliances, and electricals, remained weak as the higher cost of living continued into its third year.”
Although sales of health and beauty products were trending upward, she continued, clothing and footwear performed poorly as well.
The head of consumer markets, leisure, and retail at KPMG in the UK, Linda Ellett, called the performance of the high street “lacklustre” and stated that the “feel-good factor” that comes with easing inflation and decreasing mortgage rates had not yet shown up at the registers.
“Despite the new year, the hangover of low consumer confidence persists,” she stated.
