UK retailers suffer another poor Christmas

By Busra Akin Dincer

LONDON (AA) – New economic data released on Friday revealed British high street retailers had suffered a fourth consecutive December with no sales growth, despite the traditional Christmas rush for purchases.

International public accounting and advisory firm BDO said December’s like-for-like sales growth was -0.1 percent, according to its High Street Sales Tracker.

“While December’s decline of -0.1% may appear marginal, it is coming off of a negative base of -5.3 percent for the same month last year, which was the worst month since December 2008.

“A further decline from such a weak base will come as a serious disappointment for retailers,” the BDO stated.

The BDO High Street Sales Tracker outlines weekly sales changes of more than 70 retailers around 10,000 individual stores, mainly located on high streets throughout the U.K.

Sophie Michael, head of Retail and Wholesale at BDO, warned about challenges ahead:

“Coming at a critical juncture, this fourth negative December in succession highlights the magnitude of the challenge that lies ahead for 2017, when consumers will more keenly feel the bite of inflation and a falling pound.”