Member Article

Retail confidence remains low

Bad news for retailers, as latest figures show that consumer confidence continues to remain resoundingly low, showing an increase of only one point on October.

This month’s index score rose to -31, still ten points lower than this point in 2010, and is merely the latest dismal figure in a long term outlook, which is appearing increasingly gloomy.

The fall in spending is most likely to be felt on the high street, and recent reports show that mant household names and leading corporations continue to suffer. By contrast, the UK online retail market is growing by a rate of 14% annually, with Britons spending around £5.9 billion on the internet.

Kevin Flood, CEO of social shopping platform Shopow believes that consumer confidence will continue to damage sales, and increases in inflation will do little to encourage people to recommence spending.

He said: “The pressure is on the retailers in the approach to Christmas as many are finding that more aggressive discounting is necessary to prevent what could be a difficult season.

“Although the high street is severely being tested, we are expecting an encouraging next couple of months online with many stores embracing a multi-channel approach across mobile, online and in-store.

“With purse strings tightened, shoppers are using social networking to share the deals and discounts they have discovered. The retailers who make social shopping accessible will benefit from natural, word of mouth exposure.”

www.shopow.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .