Retail sales in Central London during December were 5.7 per cent higher, on a like-for-like basis, than in December 2004, when sales had fallen back 2.6 per cent. Sales have now risen for two consecutive months after a four-month decline following the July bombings.
Weaker sales earlier in the year mean that the average monthly change for the whole of 2005 was a 1.0 per cent decrease, much worse than the 2.1 per cent increase in 2004. The three-month trend rate of growth improved to a 1.9per cent increase from a 1.2 per cent decrease in November. Footfall strengthened further, with shoppers attracted by promotions, mega-days and clearance sales. Cold weather boosted clothing, and internet audio remained very popular but homewares continued to struggle, apart from some discount-driven sales.
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London sales outperformed UK sales in November and December, after four months of substantially larger declines than in UK sales. Kevin Hawkins, LRC Director, said “This is an impressive like-for-like figure and encouraging news for retailers in the Capital, especially considering the severe and very worrying drop in sales seen in July through to October last year. However, we must bear in mind that this figure is up against a weak comparison of -2.6 in December 2004.
Some sectors still struggled and in many cases growth was largely driven by discounting. Nevertheless, it appears trading in London is showing some signs of improvement, helped by initiatives like Oxford Street’s traffic-free festival day and also a slight lift in consumer confidence as seen across the rest of the UK.”
Helen Dickinson, Head of Retail, KPMG, added “London like-for-like sales have outperformed the rest of the UK for the second month in a row. The various initiatives in the capital to drive footfall and improve performance, including the closure of Oxford Street to traffic on one of the key Christmas trading days, appear to have had some impact. Many London retailers will be breathing a loud sigh of relief and have now moved into the sales period with much cleaner stock positions than at this time last year.”