Retail sales in February saw 'respectable bounce back'

UK retail sales saw a "respectable bounce back" in February, following a tough January.

But the British Retail Consortium (BRC) warned that "despite appearances, the results are not strong".

The BRC said like-for-like sales were up 2.2 per cent, after slow sales in January when the snow deterred shoppers from taking to the high-street. However, they warned caution, saying the figures last year were weak due to snow in February 2008, which distorted the figures.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight said: "The BRC survey shows a respectable bounce back in retail sales in February, but no more than that.

"While the survey is consistent with the belief that the economy is continuing to grow modestly after taking a significant weather-related hit in January, it does little to dilute the suspicion that the upside for consumer spending - and hence overall economic growth - will be limited in 2010 as households face still very challenging conditions."

The BRC figures also showed that food sales slowed further after shoppers had "stocked up during January’s snow".

Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC, said: "Despite appearances, these results are not that strong.

"The growth is compared with very weak figures a year ago when February saw the worst of last winter's weather and this February's performance was helped by sales postponed from January – particularly sales of non-food items such as homewares and fashion.

"Consumer confidence is certainly up on this time last year but, with unemployment rising again, spending plans are falling. When the weather-related distortions are stripped away, it's clear customers are still cautious."