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Negative retails figures announced for May

June 11, 2009 by admin  
Filed under News, News-Credit-Cards

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Recent figures that were released with regards to retail spending have shown that whilst there were some encouraging signs of increased spending shown over the Easter period retail gains have slipped back down again for May.

The Confederation of British Industries has recently stated that the small level of gains that were made in April through increased Easter spending have been reversed by the slump that has continued in May.

The figures in the Distributive Trades Survey released by the CBI indicated that 17 percent of firms reported a drop in sales levels. This compared to a positive 3 percent balance in April, with sales being boosted as a result of the Easter period. It was also shown that in the twelve months to May retail prices increased at the slowest rate for almost three years, and the 12 percent balance for this quarter was the lowest since August 2006.

An official from the CBI said: ‘Conditions were tough again in May for retailers, proving April’s better sales figure was a temporary blip. Trading conditions are expected to remain difficult in June. The harsh reality is consumers need good reason to part with their hard-earned cash.’

Another CBI official added: ‘Retailers are less pessimistic about their general business situation, and the decline in demand now appears to be slowing compared with the turn of the year. However, with unemployment still rising, conditions will remain tough.’

The CBI report also showed that retailers, like other sectors, had been cutting jobs as a result of the recession, and close to 30 percent reported having reduced the workforce. There was a positive growth in sales figures for grocers and retailers that sold footwear, but this was at a slower rate than seen in the previous month, according to the report.

Tags: Distributive, recession, retailers, year, CBI official

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