Retail Sales Show Strong January

 

High-street retailers reported a jump in sales in January but analysts warned that it could be a high water mark for a difficult 2011.

Retail sales volumes jumped 1.9% in January from December, the biggest monthly gain since February last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. Spending bounced back strongly following December's snow chaos, with retail sales growing at nearly three times the expected rate last month.

Shoppers also flooded back after the snow to beat the government's rise in VAT to 20%. Department stores posted a record 5.7% increase in sales, while clothes shops and household goods stores both enjoyed 3.4% rises. At supermarkets and other food retailers, sales edged up 0.3%.

The ONS found that sales leapt 5.3% compared with January 2010, marking the fastest annual growth since November 2004. Excluding fuel, retail sales rose by 1.6% on the month and 5.3% on the year. However, taken over the last two months sales increased by only 0.5% and over the last three months by an even weaker 0.2%.

However, the ONS repeated warnings from the British Retail Consortium that a mini-boom in the first week of the January sales was followed by a dive during the second half of the month.

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