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Retail sales decline stops in November
Retailers have reported unchanged sales volumes in the year to November after six consecutive months of declining annual sales, new figures reveal.
In total, 38% of respondents to the CBI Distributive Trends survey said that sales volumes were up on a year ago in November, while 41% said they were down, giving a balance of -3%.
Meanwhile, 44% of retailers expect sales volumes to increase in the year to December, while just 23% expect a drop in sales – their strongest expectations in seven months.
The figures show business conditions are expected to remain stable over the next three months and total employment was broadly flat in the year to November, with the strongest growth in part-time employment in five years counterbalanced by a further fall in full-time employment.
In addition, retailers are once again planning to spend less on investment next year than they did this year, the figures show.
Anna Leach, CBI deputy chief economist, said: "Retailers are entering the festive season with a bit of hope that sales will head up, with the strongest expectations in half a year. Actual sales have also stabilised and have nudged above average for the time of year. And employment has stopped falling after three years of decline. But Brexit uncertainty continues to weigh on investment plans for the year ahead which remain weak.
"As the election period gets into full swing, retailers will welcome the prominence being given to fixing the broken business rates system. But it will be up to the next government to turn warm words into action."
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