When compared with the high-street and wider retail sector, the continued resilience of e-retail in the face of economic uncertainty is clear. The British Retail Consortium reported a disappointing start to the year, with the traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers indicating a year-on-year growth of just 2.1%.

This poor result comes on the back of a continued decline in inflation, which suggests more needs to be done to reinvigorate consumer spending on Britain’s high-street.
Travel sales bounced back in January, following five consecutive months of decline, with sales soaring 205% on December.  For the first time since the sector was first tracked in December 2008, the average spend on travel has exceeded £1,000, which suggests that while the majority of Brits are finding their finances squeezed, the more affluent shopper is able to splash out on luxurious holidays.

Outside of travel, January saw a steep decline on December, with alcohol reporting a drop of 66% - a result, no doubt, of Brits looking to detox after Christmas. The clothing sector saw a monthly decline of 38% and while a drop in January across all sectors is typical, sales of clothing have recorded low levels of year-on-year growth for the third consecutive month, likely to be a result of the relatively mild winter.

To read the original article on Retail Bulletin, please click here: Determined start for online retailers
Related Links:

• Press Release: Determined start to 2012 for online retailers
• Industry Overview: Retail