Figures released earlier this week by the British Retail Consortium showed a 2.7% slump in retail sales for the period April 28-May 25, 2019, the biggest dip in 24 years.
“These disappointing figures are reflective of the challenging times retail faces as a whole,” comments Andrew Goodacre CEO of the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira). “We saw encouraging figures for April, helped by Easter, but these figures show the brittle nature of consumer confidence and any uncertainty – such as Brexit – will result in less spending.”
He continues: “Interestingly, while we can’t directly compare these figures, our own survey of independent retail businesses saw a slightly better first quarter for small businesses, with 51.75% of respondents reporting a higher performance for Q1, up on Q4 2018 (46.43%) and a clear improvement on Q1 2018 (42.56%). We hope this positive start to the year for independent retail businesses will continue but as we know, nothing is certain in retail.”
He highlighted that smaller independent retail businesses have been helped with a 30% reduction in business rates. “We now need the Government to start spending the £675m high street fundto help bring confidence back to our high streets. As always, Bira will continue to fight the corner for independent businesses across the UK and we are now looking to secure a permanent solution for business rates from 2021.”
The Bira Quarterly Sales Monitor is published four times a year and is the only survey of its kind that reflects the independent retail industry in the UK. The report features full analysis from the survey as well as all member comments. All reports are used to influence the media and Government through Bira’s Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee (LPAC).
Above: Britain’s high streets have seen a significant dip in retail sales.
