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26th November 2008
Retail sector 'being driven by discounts'
Small and local retailers were among those to slash their prices last month, as a wave of pre-Christmas sales swept across the nation.
According to the latest government figures to be published by the Office of National Statistics, retail spending was up by two per cent in the three months to October, despite the fact that it dropped by 0.1 per cent last month.
These results paint a better-than-expected portrait of the retail sector, but analysts have been quick to point out that the results do not take account of the slew of discount sales that have been on offer, something which implies that retail profits are actually much lower.
Stephen Robertson, director general of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) pointed out that the figures were in "stark contrast" to his organisation's findings which showed larger slips in sales during October.
"Given customers and retailers are being squeezed by a whole range of costs and consumer confidence at record lows, few retailers are telling me consumers are spending more," he said.
Recently, the Bookseller Association warned retailers in the industry that heavy discounting is leading to poorer growth volumes and lower profits.
(c) 2008 Adfero Ltd.
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