High street sees strongest sales growth for two years

By James Hall, Retail Editor Published: 6:30AM GMT twenty-six Feb 2010

Shoppers returned to the high travel in Feb Photo: PA

According to the ultimate Distributive Trades Survey, 23pc of retailers pronounced sales volumes in early Feb were reduce than one year ago whilst 46pc pronounced they were higher. The ensuing shift of 23pc is a noted alleviation on the reduction 8pc seen in Jan and is the strongest year-on-year enlarge in sales given May 2007. It additionally kick retailers" own expectations. Store groups thought that there would be small shift in sales volumes on a year ago.

Furthermore, the consult showed that a shift of 16pc of retailers design there will be serve expansion subsequent month, compared with last March.

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Howard Archer, arch UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, described the total as "a acquire antidote".

"Following a new array of worrying mercantile interpretation and surveys together with the headlines that commercial operation investment fell neatly in the fourth entertain of 2009, the Feb CBI distributive trades consult offers a little really acquire respite," he said.

Meanwhile Richard Lowe, head of sell and indiscriminate at Barclays, said: "February has defied expectations with a lapse to certain expansion in the sell sector. Businesses will be eager by this headlines after the New Year began with a reining in of consumer spending that commentators had seen as a probable pointer of a double-dip retrogression on the horizon."

However the great headlines was countered by the commentary of a second survey. Figures from the Retail Stress Indicator, a weekly consult by Begbies Traynor and The Daily Telegraph, showed that the series of UK shops confronting poignant or vicious monetary difficulties over the 3 months to Feb twelve was 6pc higher than last year. According to the survey, 12,653 retailers faced monetary issues over the 3 months to Feb 12, up 6pc from 11,899 last year.