UK retail sales decline in August, survey says British Retail Consortium says August sales down 0.1 percent on comparable basis On Tuesday September 8, 2009, 5:01 am EDT Buzz up! 0 Print LONDON (AP) -- Retail sales in the United Kingdom fell 0.1 percent in August compared to a miserably wet August a year ago, suggesting consumer spending remains weak despite improved economic indicators, the British Retail Consortium said Tuesday.
Total sales rose 2.2 percent despite dropping on a like-for-like basis, according to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.
Natalia Marisova at Investec Securities said direct yearly comparisons were imprecise because the latest report excluded the holiday weekend at the end of August.
"This said, this month's weak data provided a more sober snapshot of the industry as the effects of widespread discounting started to fade," Marisova said.
Stephen Robertson, the BRC's director-general, said the "deceptively good sales growth" of June and July was based on good weather and price-cutting, not on a surge of consumer confidence.
"People are holding off buying autumn and winter clothing till they actually need it," Robertson said.
"Most people are still very reluctant to spend on expensive household items unless they're sufficiently discounted. As we head into autumn, we mustn't make too much of any positive sales growth because the comparison will be with very weak figures a year ago when total sales growth dipped below zero."
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