Bumper Christmas on cards for retailers
Published On 20 November 2006
Retailers can expect a bumper Christmas with over £11 billion being spent on presents, new research has found.Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) have predicted retail figures up ten per cent from the 2005 statistics.
On top of this, the group has estimated goods will be sold to the value of £33 billion in December – a six per cent increase on the figures for the same period last year.
Kevin Hawkins, BRC director general, said: "These are encouraging predictions for the retail sector after a tough year which has seen a slump in consumer confidence, escalating costs and falling prices. The high street is definitely eager for a boom Christmas.
"Christmas is by far the most important time of the year for many retailers and it is also the best indicator of how confident consumers are heading in to the new year. I think sales figures this Christmas will give us a genuine read on the state of the economy in the short term."
The average person in the UK will spend £390 on gifts this festive season with ten million turkeys and seven million trees being bought in total.
