Autumn chill boosts shop sales

The onset of cold weather helped pull retail sales out of the doldrums last month, new figures reveal.

Low temperatures alongside widespread pre-Christmas discounting drove November's total sales up by 4.6% over the same period last year, their strongest annual increase since March, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said.

Winter clothing and footwear performed particularly well, while food sales also benefited.

On a like-for-like basis, November's sales climbed 0.8% over November 2004, when sales slipped by 0.2%. Last month marks the first time in seven months that like-for-like figures have been in positive territory.

Today's report should give many shop owners a sigh of relief following weeks of predictions of a dismal holiday shopping season, said Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG.

However, she stressed the figures come on the back of weak comparatives.

"Whether this represents further evidence that the worst of the slowdown has passed its worst or is a temporary blip driven by the appearance of the sun and the cold winter weather remains to be seen," Dickinson said.

New figures from FootFall, meanwhile, show that an increasingly value-conscious consumer base is driving the upsurge on the high streets.

While relatively quiet in prior weeks, FootFall reports a 7.1% week-on-week rise in customers entering shops in the week to 4 December. The number increases to 8.8% for department stores.

Still, the total number of shoppers is 5.2% below the same week in 2004, FootFall said, suggesting shoppers are tightening their belts this year.

"The pre-Christmas rush is slower than anticipated, partly due to the levels retailers experienced during mid-November when clever flash sales in many of the major stores coincided with an unexpected cold snap, driving shoppers out to buy seasonal goods and clothing," said Natasha Burton, marketing manager at FootFall.

"Consequently, we are seeing sizeable week on week rises, alternating with downturn or very low increases when consumers are feeling temporarily 'shopped out' or awaiting the next round of offers."

Nevertheless, she said today's numbers bode well for shop owners in the final run toward Christmas.