Last minute rush saves retailers Christmas
This year customers left it late to do their Christmas shopping and it took widespread discounting to tempt them in to stores, says British Retail Consortium (BRC) chief Kevin Hawkins.
Although the period started off slowly and sales will certainly be up on last year, retailers will have done well to beat last December’s year-on-year growth.
British Retail Consortium Director General Kevin Hawkins said: “After a very slow start, the Christmas rush finally kicked-in in the last ten days of shopping. But a lot of that was driven by discounting, good for customers but bad for those retailers who’ve seen their margins squeezed in a crucial month.
“Overall retail sales will certainly be up on last year but, with customers’ finances under more pressure than twelve months ago, retailers will have done well to beat last December’s year-on-year growth of 2.5 per cent.
“There will be sharp differences between retail’s winners and losers. Those that got it right on price and availability should have done well. Department stores and those in shopping centres have also benefited as cold weather has made some high streets less attractive. But others, especially those without a distinctive offer or who are less able to afford discounts have struggled.”
