BRC: Festive sales pick
up, but shaky 2025 on the cards
Responding to the latest ONS Retail Sales Index
figures, which showed sales up 3.5% by value, and up 2.9% by
volume, Kris Hamer, Director of Insight at the British Retail
Consortium, said:
“Retail sales picked up in December, but this unfortunately did
not offset the shaky start to the ‘Golden Quarter'. In non-food,
electricals, beauty and books made for popular presents.
Meanwhile, sales of furniture and other large ticket items were
hard hit as families continued to think twice before making
larger purchases, and clothing and footwear sales remained muted.
“While retailers welcome this boost to sales, it will barely
touch the sides of the £7bn in new costs from the Budget facing
the industry in 2025. Higher employer national insurance
contributions, higher National Living Wage, and a new packaging
levy will heap pressure on an industry that is already paying
more than its fair share of tax. With retailers doing all they
can to absorb existing costs, two thirds of CFOs report they are
left with little choice but to increase prices, and reduce
investment in jobs and shops. To mitigate this, Government must
ensure that its proposed business rates reform does not result in
any shop paying higher rates than they already do.”
-ENDS-
According to the ONS, on a
Year-on-year seasonally adjusted basis:
- Sales by Value (amount spent) increased 3.5% YoY
- Sales by Volume (quantity bought) increased 2.9%
YoY
Retail figures underline the
importance of the Government's Make Work Pay agenda –
TUC
Commenting on figures published today
(Friday) which show retail sales falling by 0.3 per cent in
December 2024, TUC General Secretary
Paul Nowak
said:
“People need to be able to spend on
their local high streets, but years of stagnating living
standards under the Conservatives have taken their toll.
“One in six workers are regularly
skipping meals to make ends meet. That's not right and it's why
the government's Make Work Pay agenda is so important.
“More money in people's pockets means
more spend on our struggling high streets - that's good for
workers and good for local economies too.
“It's time to leave behind the broken
model which saw insecure work explode and living standards
decline. The Employment Rights Bill will deliver the economic
reset working people desperately
need.”
ENDS
Notes to
editors:
- 1 in 6 workers are regularly
skipping meals, according to recent TUC polling https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/tuc-poll-1-6-workers-have-skipped-meal-regularly-past-three-months-make-ends-meet
- Under the Conservative real wages grew by just 0.3% a year
- compared to 1.5% from 1997 to 2010.
-At the same time, the number of
people in insecure work soared by 1 million between 2011 and 2023
to 4.1 million.
- The TUC estimates that the average worker would be £117 a
week better off had pay increased since 2010 at the same pace as
between 1997 and 2010
-Pay growth during Conservative-led
government from 2010-2024 was worse than for any other period of
government since the 1920s.
