Shoppers splashed out over Christmas, with official figures showing retail sales rose by 2.6% in December, way ahead of City forecasts of 0.2%.
The rise was driven by a surge in sales at smaller specialist stores and a recovery in furniture and clothes buying. Britain's retailers have been publishing their festive trading reports over the past fortnight, with companies such as Next, Argos and Dixons emerging as big winners.
There were strong sales in electronic equipment such as iPads and smartphones while the recovery in the housing market has also played a part, pushing up sales of household goods. The only drag on sales came from the continuing decline in petrol purchases.
Alan Clarke, UK economist at Scotia bank, said the figures put a stamp on the broader economic recovery. He said: "It's a boom.
UK retail sales surged by 2.6% month on month in December – massively higher than expected." His view was echoed in many quarters across the City, which is betting on the economic revival gathering strength this year.
But the rise in December came after a slow October and November and implied that shoppers waited even longer than usual for bargains in the run up to Christmas.
Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, was more downbeat, pointing out that the December figures followed "a muted overall performance" over the last quarter after retail sales edged up 0.2% month-on-month in November after a drop of 0.9% in October.
"This indicates that consumers left much of their Christmas spending late in the hope of getting better late deals from retailers. It also implies that spending was strong at the start of the clearance sales as squeezed consumers looked to take advantage of genuine bargains," he said.
Adding up the last three months, retail sales growth in the fourth quarter of 2013 was 0.4%, which was down substantially from growth of 1.6% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter.
Despite the monthly ups and downs, retailers are expected to cheer the figures and the determination of Britons to keep spending in a year when inflation far outstripped wage rises.
The amount spent in shops and online increased by 6.1% last month compared with December 2012, the Office for National Statistics said. Inflation in 2013 averaged around 3% and wages increased on average by less than 1%.
Bank of England credit figures appear to show that middle income families are paying down their debts at a slower pace to release funds for consumption rather than a splurge of spending based on higher consumer credit.
theguardian.com
The rise was driven by a surge in sales at smaller specialist stores and a recovery in furniture and clothes buying. Britain's retailers have been publishing their festive trading reports over the past fortnight, with companies such as Next, Argos and Dixons emerging as big winners.
There were strong sales in electronic equipment such as iPads and smartphones while the recovery in the housing market has also played a part, pushing up sales of household goods. The only drag on sales came from the continuing decline in petrol purchases.
Alan Clarke, UK economist at Scotia bank, said the figures put a stamp on the broader economic recovery. He said: "It's a boom.
UK retail sales surged by 2.6% month on month in December – massively higher than expected." His view was echoed in many quarters across the City, which is betting on the economic revival gathering strength this year.
But the rise in December came after a slow October and November and implied that shoppers waited even longer than usual for bargains in the run up to Christmas.
Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, was more downbeat, pointing out that the December figures followed "a muted overall performance" over the last quarter after retail sales edged up 0.2% month-on-month in November after a drop of 0.9% in October.
"This indicates that consumers left much of their Christmas spending late in the hope of getting better late deals from retailers. It also implies that spending was strong at the start of the clearance sales as squeezed consumers looked to take advantage of genuine bargains," he said.
Adding up the last three months, retail sales growth in the fourth quarter of 2013 was 0.4%, which was down substantially from growth of 1.6% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter.
Despite the monthly ups and downs, retailers are expected to cheer the figures and the determination of Britons to keep spending in a year when inflation far outstripped wage rises.
The amount spent in shops and online increased by 6.1% last month compared with December 2012, the Office for National Statistics said. Inflation in 2013 averaged around 3% and wages increased on average by less than 1%.
Bank of England credit figures appear to show that middle income families are paying down their debts at a slower pace to release funds for consumption rather than a splurge of spending based on higher consumer credit.
theguardian.com
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