Retail Sales hit hard

Retail sales fell by 4.8% for the year to January, 2010. On a monthly basis retail sales fell by 17.3% which can be accounted for by the pre-Christmas shopping period. Most categories in the Retail Sales Index(RTI) showed declines with the biggest movers being

Motor Trades down 4.5%
Pharmaceutical Medical and Cosmetic Articles down 2.0%
Clothing Footwear and Textiles down 4.2%
Bars down 9.9%
Other Retail Sales down 11.7%

The value of retail sales plummeted by 8.4% year on year, perhaps showing the heavy discounting retailers are engaged in in an effort to shift stock. On an monthly basis, the value of retail sales fell by 15.6%

There was a slightly better outlook if motor trades were excluded from the figures. On a yearly basis, sales fell 4.7% and the figures showed a monthly rise of 0.1%. The value of retail sales, without motor trades, fell by 8.3% with the monthly change being +0.6%.

In comparison, figures released by Eurostat show that the volume of retail sales in Europe fell by 0.6% for February compared to January. On a yearly basis, the fall was 1.1%. Total retail trade fell in thirteen and rose in seven, the biggest increase being in the UK (+2.2%).

Sources:

Retail Sales Index – January, 2010 ROI

EU Retail Sales – February, 2010