CBI survey reveals High Street gloom

RETAIL sales figures today showed gloom on the high street as volumes fell this month at the fastest pace for over a year.

Figures from the CBI also showed that retailers are the most negative they have been about the general business climate since February 2009.

The CBI’s latest quarterly Distributive Trades Survey found that 31% of retailers saw the volume of sales rise in the two weeks to 16 August, while 46% said they fell.

The resulting rounded balance of -14% was in line with expectations (-12%), and the most negative since May 2010 (-18%).

A balance of -11% of retailers said they felt more negative about the business situation over the next three months than they did three months ago, the most negative for 18 months.

Judith McKenna, chair of the CBI Distributive Trades Panel and chief operating officer of supermarket giant Asda said: ““As expected, August was a tough month on the high street. Sales volumes fell at a pace not seen in over a year, as consumers have continued to see their real incomes squeezed by a combination of inflation and weak wage growth.

“This survey suggests that prices will rise more slowly in the coming months, and savvy retailers will continue to offer consumers the lowest prices possible, but with energy and commodity costs still high, families’ spending power looks like being constrained for some time.”