Retail Sales figures in February did not fall as low as expected following the strong post Christmas sales in January. The Office for National Statistics reported that retail sales only dropped by 0.4% last month, as opposed to the predicted 0.7%. Retailers are in fact optimistic about potential sales volumes in April.
In comparison to 2015, overall retail sales in February grew by 3.8%. However it has been reported that retailers are using considerable discounts to continue to attract shoppers.
Andrzej Szczepaniak, an economist at Barclays believes that the uncertainty of the upcoming EU referendum may cause consumers to be more cautious with their spending.
Full article by David Milliken and Ana Nicolaci Da Costa http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-retail
