The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has predicted that this year’s Christmas retail sales are likely to only be ‘acceptable’ rather the ‘exceptional’ that it had been previously predicting.
The Consortium says that the last day of trading today could boost sales as many shoppers have waited for the shops to make price cuts to land a bargain, and of course the usual last minute rush made by panic buyers who have either completely forgotten to get presents or are making list ditch attempts at getting that perfect present.
Many retailers have already implemented their ‘Boxing Day’ sales in an effort to get shoppers through their doors. Online retailers are also planning to bring their sales forward. Most high streets, shopping centres and supermarkets are all reported to be crammed with shoppers. Saturday was thought to be the busiest day of the year with VISA Europe predicting that more than 31 million transactions had taken place.
Richard Dodd, head of media and campaigns at the BRC, said: “People have left it very late this year because of their reluctance to spend. They are holding out for bargains. It’s been a very busy weekend which will be crucial to delivering a Christmas that is acceptable, rather than exceptional,” he added.
Despite the optimism emerging from some quarters of the retail scene the Local Government Association has said that confidence on the high street remains low. In its annual Christmas survey it found that 84% town centre managers said confidence among shoppers had either not improved or worsened compared to Christmas 2011. The depressingly wet weather has also put shoppers off.
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