Heavy discounting by retailers prompted encouraging retail sales last month, according to the latest set of figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
According to the ONS, overall sales were up by two per cent in January on the same point in 2011, while value increased by 4.4 per cent. Sales were 0.9 per cent higher than in the previous month, when growth of 0.6 per cent was registered.
“On the face of it, January’s official retail sales figures suggest that a recovery in high street spending is gaining momentum,” said Samuel Tombs, UK economist at Capital Economics. “But there are reasons to doubt the strength of the official data.”
Sales at small retailers employing nine or fewer people surged by 24 per cent year-on-year, while household goods sales were up 4.8 per cent. However, while inflation declined to 3.6 per cent in January, unemployment remains elevated and credit conditions are likely to be tight.
A survey from research group Nielsen revealed last week that headline value growth at UK supermarkets was up by 3.5 per cent in the four weeks to February 4.
