MNI: UK Retail Sales See Steady Growth In Feb: BRC

--BRC Feb Like-for-Like Sales Up 0.6% y/y; Total Up 1.6%

     LONDON (MNI) - Retail sales growth held steady in February, with non-food

sales continuing to suffer from the elevated cost of food purchases, British

Retail Consortium (BRC) data showed.

     February like-for-like sales were up 0.6% on the year, matching the growth

rate from the previous three months, with total sales up 0.2pp to 1.6%,

sandwiched between the 3-month average of 1.5% and and the 12-month average of

1.7%. The data add to the evidence that while sales growth is holding up, it is

struggling to gain momentum due to the squeeze on real incomes.

     Food sales rose 2.8% in the three months through January on a like-for-like

basis while non-food sales fell 1.1%. The BRC data are based on the value of

sales, and elevated inflation will tend to push up sales of essential items such

as food.

     "On the high street, it was grocery sales that continued to pull it out of

the bag," Helen Dickinson, BRC Chief Executive, said.

     "Retailers experiencing any growth in this environment will be counting

themselves lucky. Indeed, total growth of 1.6% in February is quite an

achievement in such testing times. Softening consumer demand, rising costs for

retailers and of course the ongoing structural changes within the industry, are

creating the perfect storm which is uprooting the weakest players," she added.

     A rise in unsecured consumer borrowing and high employment have helped

support retail sales growth, but discretionary spending has come under pressure

as inflation erodes households' real income.

--MNI London Bureau; +44 203-586-2226; email: jamie.satchithanantham@marketnews.com

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