According to the latest BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor, UK retail sales rose by 2.6% on a like-for-like basis from January 2015, when they had increased 0.2% from the preceding year. On a total basis, sales were up 3.3%, against a 1.6% rise in January 2015 – the best growth since September, firmly ahead of the three-month average of 1.6%, and the 12-month average of 1.9%.
All product categories contributed to the growth, furniture topping the growth rankings table – a particularly strong achievement in the most important month of the year for the category.
Helen Dickinson OBE, chief executive, British Retail Consortium, says: “Following on from a somewhat disappointing Christmas period for retailers, the new year kicked off to a strong start, with 3.3% growth across all product categories and 2.6% growth on like-for-like sales. This was the best performance for retailers since September and ahead of the three and 12 month averages.
“January’s performance was driven by big-ticket items, in particular furniture, which is encouraging in the largest month of the year for the category.
“Retailers will welcome the positive start to what will be a momentous year for the industry. Next month the Treasury will report back on its long-awaited review of the business rates system. This is the moment for the Government to rebalance this tax away from property intensive industries in order to ensure that the introduction of the living wage does not have unintended consequences on our local communities and jobs.”
Adjusted for the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index deflation, total growth was 5.1%.
Online sales of non-food products grew 14.9% in January versus a year earlier, when they had grown 11.7%. The non-food online penetration rate was 21.5%, up 1.4% points from January 2015.
