Retailers hit a seven-year high raising hopes for festive season

Published on Monday 9 November 2009 20:46

BRITAIN'S retailers secured their strongest October sales in seven years, according to figures out today, raising hopes for Christmas trading.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) says sales in October were up 3.8 per cent on the same month last year, when the high street was knocked sideways in the aftermath of the banking crisis.

Industry experts say the figures are a sign that consumer confidence is finally staging a comeback, although they warn that the data compares with some of the worst sales numbers in recent history in the final three months of last year. Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC, said: "These are encouraging results – the best like-for-like and total October sales growth since 2002. They are, however, compared to dreadful figures last year when the final three months were all negative."

Growth of non-food sales, including clothing, footwear and homeware products, continued its upward momentum in October.

But the figures also reveal an easing in food sales, which previously showed more resilience to the recession. The slowing of food sales growth reflected lower food price inflation, the BRC said.

But Robertson stressed that the high street is not out of the woods yet and shoppers are likely to remain cautious in anticipation of tax hikes next year. The continued rises in unemployment are also playing on shoppers' minds, he said.

Robertson predicts a fierce price war on the high street this Christmas in an attempt to coax Britons to part with their cash.

He said: "Shops have already started to battle it out for customers with a string of promotions and discounts. But 2010 has many uncertainties, including the likelihood of rising unemployment and tax increases."

A string of big high street names, including Next and Sir Philip Green's Arcadia Group, have posted optimistic figures in recent weeks, but few are yet willing to call an end to the high street's woes.

Next chief executive Simon Wolfson last week told investors not to get "too carried away" with talk of a recovery.