Customer belts are tightening January 30th, 2008
Whilst activity on the high street in the January sales was better than expected, only 39% of respondants in a CBI survey reported increased sales compared to this time last year. On the back of this news, a slight increase in February sales is predicted.
However, there is a consensus amongst analysts that retailers are in for a bumpy ride in 2008. Vicky Redwood at Capital Economics said “The survey is hardly an encouraging first indicator of spending in January and certainly fits in with our view that spending growth is set to slow sharply this year.”
