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Retail sales fall as consumer confidence slumps

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Date: Tuesday 13 May 2008

LONDON (ShareCast) - Shoppers pulled in their horns in April with high street sales down by 1.5% on last year, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said today.

Clothing and footwear sales fell to their worst levels in eight years, the BRC said, adding that furniture sales were down from a year ago despite continued discounting and promotions. "Consumer confidence has dropped sharply to new lows,” the BRC said.

“With increasing demands on household budgets, shoppers are very price-conscious and reluctant to spend on big-ticket items.”

However, food sales picked up in April after slowing in March, the BRC said. It also pointed out that total sales, which unlike like-for-like sales take new stores’ sales into account, rose by 1% in March from a year ago.

The BRC’s Director General Stephen Robertson was also pessimistic about the short-term outlook for retailers.

“Retailers will look to the recent sunny weather to provide some boost but with the economic fundamentals remaining weak, there seems no reason for these tough trading conditions to improve soon,” he said. “However, this is a good time for the savvy shopper to pick up some bargains.”

In the three months from February to April 2008, like-for-like sales fell 0.6%.

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