Food price rise boosts retail sales income

Retail sales growth picked up last month after sharp increases in food prices, but consumer caution continues to disappoint high street businesses.

By The Newsroom

Published 9th Nov 2010, 11:03 BST

Updated 9th Nov 2010, 11:04 BST

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said like-for-like sales rose 0.8 per cent by value in October – up from 0.5 per cent in September.

However, the increase was largely driven by higher food price inflation and non-food sales failed to make headway over the month.

Clothing sales fell for the first time in almost a year, with shoppers wary of committing to large purchases, according to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.

Fast-growing mail order and internet sales growth pulled back after a strong September, up 12.8 per cent last month.

KPMG