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UK retailers are looking to the Olympics to help fuel growth this summer.
UK retailers are looking to the Olympics to help boost their bottom line sales, with jubilant moods hoped to drive consumer spending. Shops are preparing for an influx of shoppers and are ensuring that their stocks and resources such as paper shopping bags, gift tags and wrapping paper are fully prepared for any surge in sales. Warm weather in the final week of July, combined with the start of the Games helped to boost food and drink sales, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), with a sharp fall in food inflation just managing to dampen top line growth. A three-month rolling average showed that the growth of like-for-like non-food sales outpaced food sales for the first time since May 2010, largely thanks to strong growth in clothing and footwear, toiletries and cosmetics. Online sales, including mail and phone order, showed even better growth, soaring 15.6 per cent compared to growth of 9.6 per cent last year. Commenting on these latest figures, Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC said that July hadn't proved quite the boon for spending as expected, however with squeezed budgets consumers were still spending. "There was a boost for food retailers towards the end of the month as the sunshine came out and shoppers started getting in party food and drink ahead of the Olympics," he added. However, by far the brightest spot was clothing and footwear, which capitalised on quicker autumn collection releases, causing consumers to respond "enthusiastically to the chance to refresh their wardrobes with items they could make use of straight away," Mr Robertson explained. Longer Sunday opening hours over the Olympic period were also shown to boost sales, with retailers encouraged to be more prepared and better stocked to cope with the increased demand. With the closing ceremony taking place this weekend the final sales figures showing the impact of the Games have yet been made public. |
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