British same-store sales in March fall 1,2 % yoy

Discussion in 'Economics' started by ASusilovic, Apr 15, 2009.

  1. LONDON (MarketWatch) -- British same-store sales fell in March, but the timing of the Easter holiday makes comparisons versus the same month last year difficult, the British Retail Consortium said Thursday.

    The BRC's monthly retail sales monitor found same-store sales values fell 1.2% compared to March 2008.

    Total sales values rose just 0.6% from March 2008, when sales were extremely weak due to unseasonable weather, the retail trade group said.

    "The comparative figures were particularly weak, as last year's results were affected by some poor weather and came at the turning point when declining consumer confidence really started to impact spending," said Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG.
    "So, while 0.6% growth in the value of total retail sales is nothing to write home about, it is better than expected given that we still have the anticipated uplift due to Easter trading to come in April," she said.

    Year-on-year comparisons are difficult to assess since the Easter holiday fell in March last year but April this year, the BRC said, adding that favorable weather this March and snow and rain in March 2008 add to the difficulty.
    The BRC found growth in sales of food and drink, clothing and footwear, while furniture and floor coverings, home accessories, house textiles, and other non-food categories fell compared to March of last year.

    http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...00-F06D-4575-B9A6-53108AA5192A}&dist=hplatest

    Maybe that´s why GBP / USD moving above 1,5000...?:confused: