A FAMILIAR gloom descended on the British high street last month as post-festive discounting came to an end and poor weather set in.
According to the British Retail Consortium's sales monitor for February – published today – the value of sales last month fell by 1.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis, which strips out the impact of new store openings.
The year-on-year slide foll
ows a surprise sales rise in January.
BRC director-general Stephen Robertson said last month's "disappointing" figures proved that January had been "a discount-driven blip".
He added: "The short burst of spending unleashed by January clearances has largely vanished, replaced by sales as weak as most of last year.
"Early February snow didn't help but customers' and retailers' difficulties run deeper."
Today's report, produced in conjunction with accountancy giant KPMG, shows that growth in comparable food sales slowed to 4.3 per cent in the three months to February, while non-food sales dropped 5.3 per cent with homewares and big-ticket items particularly hard hit.
Researchers warned that more job losses should be expected as non-food retailers battle falling sales and margins are further hit by increased import costs and the weak pound.
The women's and men's clothing sectors experienced their worst month since last April, as they struggled with snowy weather in the first week of the month and gloomy news about the economy in the final week.
While the chilly temperatures boosted sales of shovels, wellington boots and duvets, gardening sales suffered.
Uncertainty about household incomes and the housing market meant purchases of electrical equipment were often for replacement purposes rather than upgrades or additions, the BRC noted. Televisions, laptops and smaller "netbooks" sold well but digital imaging struggled.
Overall, the value of total sales managed to stay in positive territory during February, rising a marginal 0.1 per cent year-on-year.
Craig Anderson, head of KPMG in Scotland, said: "Battling falling sales – total, as well as like-for-like – is not a sustainable prospect for many retailers in the non-food sectors."
Howard Archer, chief UK economist at forecasting body IHS Global Insight, added: "Retail sales may have been dragged down to a limited extent in February by the heavy snow that covered much of the country early in the month. The underlying fundamentals for consumer spending over the coming months look pretty horrible."
Figures from the Scottish Retail Consortium are due later this month. January's data revealed a 2 per cent like-for-like hike north of the Border, against a UK-wide rise of 1.1 per cent.
