http://www.brc.org.uk/rss_brcnewsfeed.xml All of the latest retail news from the BRC en-gb Mon, 20 May 2013 07:11:00 GMT Copyright (C) British Retail Consortium. 120 http://www.brc.org.uk/ctnt_images/BRClogoforRSS.gif http://www.brc.org.uk/rss_brcnewsfeed.xml Footfall in April was 1.0% higher than a year ago, an improvement on the 5.2% fall in March. This is the strongest performance since December 2011 when footfall increased 5.7%. The warmer weather in April had a noticeable impact on the figures with footfall improving as temperatures rose. High streets reported the greatest rise (3.4%), the strongest performance since December 2011, followed by out-of-town (0.3%). Footfall in shopping centres fell 3.0% in April, its worst performance since January 2013. The national town centre vacancy rate in the UK was 11.9% in April 2013, up from 10.9% in January 2013, the highest rate since the survey began in July 2011. http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2446 http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2446 Mon, 20 May 2013 07:10:00 GMT Retail In April 2013 total Scottish sales decreased by 2.1% compared with April 2012, when they had decreased by 4.1%. Like-for-like sales decreased by 3.0% on last April, when they had decreased by 5.2%. Taking account of shop price inflation at 0.4%, April total sales were down 2.5% in real terms. http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2443 http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2443 Wed, 15 May 2013 07:10:00 GMT Retail Grocery retailers have today signed up to challenging new targets for cutting food waste in the supply chain and at home, building on the excellent progress already made in these areas. http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2441 http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2441 Thu, 9 May 2013 13:10:00 GMT Retail Reacting to today's (Wednesday) Queen's Speech, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said... http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2436 http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2436 Wed, 8 May 2013 11:50:00 GMT Retail UK retail sales values were down 2.2% on a like-for-like basis from April 2012, when they had declined 3.3% on the preceding year. On a total basis, sales were down 0.6%, against a 1.0% decline in April 2012. http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2433 http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2433 Wed, 8 May 2013 07:10:00 GMT Retail Overall shop price inflation fell to 0.4% in April from 1.4% in March. Food inflation fell to 2.9% in April from 3.5% in March. Non-food returned to deflationary territory, down 1.0% after a 0.2% rise in March. http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2432 http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2432 Tue, 7 May 2013 07:10:00 GMT Retail Retail employment rose by 1.8% in the first quarter of 2013 compared with a year earlier, driven entirely by part-time workers and predominantly in food retailers. In the first quarter of 2013, the number of outlets rose by 1.4%, having fallen in the previous quarter. In March, there were 253 more stores in our sample compared with March last year, driven entirely by food retailers. Four in five retailers intend to increase or keep staffing levels unchanged in the next three months. http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2430 http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2430 Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:10:00 GMT Retail Total retail search volumes grew 16% in the first quarter of 2013 compared with the same quarter a year earlier. In the first quarter, search volumes on tablet devices outpaced those on any other device, increasing 198% compared with growth on smartphone devices of 66%. Total search volumes grew fastest for homewares, up 34% year-on-year. Homewares also had the highest growth in search volumes on tablets (236%) and smartphones, up by 88% year-on-year. http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2429 http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2429 Mon, 22 Apr 2013 07:10:00 GMT Retail Official retail figures, released today (Thursday) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), show that the cold snap did not dent sales growth in March as much as had been feared, but it cooled demand for new-season ranges in some categories, especially clothing and footwear. http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2427 http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2427 Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:30:00 GMT Retail In March 2013 total Scottish sales increased by 1.8% compared with March 2012, when they had increased by 1.8%. Like-for-like sales increased by 0.9% on last March, when they had increased by 0.9%. Taking account of shop price inflation at 1.4%, March total sales were up 0.3% in real terms. http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2426 http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2426 Wed, 17 Apr 2013 07:10:00 GMT Retail The British Retail Consortium has today responded to Vince Cable's announcement that the National Minimum Wage will be increased by 1.9 per cent in October 2013. http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2425 http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2425 Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:10:00 GMT Retail Footfall in March was 5.2% lower than a year ago, a poorer performance than the 0.8% rise in February. This is the weakest performance since April 2012 when footfall declined 6.9%. http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2424 http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2424 Mon, 15 Apr 2013 07:10:00 GMT Retail UK retail sales values were up 1.9% on a like-for-like basis from March 2012, when they had risen 1.3% on the preceding year. On a total basis, sales were up 3.7%, against a 3.6% rise in March 2012. http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2420 http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2420 Tue, 9 Apr 2013 07:10:00 GMT Retail Retailers have diverted significant time and money to preparing staff and stores for the introduction of carrier bag charging today (Monday) in Northern Ireland but there is still a risk of initial customer confusion and conflict. http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2419 http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2419 Mon, 8 Apr 2013 07:10:00 GMT Retail An EU decision to keep import taxes on Chinese crockery and cookware will leave hard-pressed customers paying more without bringing any benefits to UK manufacturers, said the British Retail Consortium (BRC). http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2418 http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_news_detail.asp?id=2418 Thu, 4 Apr 2013 07:10:00 GMT Retail