Retailers warn sales at risk in 2022

Retailers in the country have warned that the cost of living risks is dragging down high street sales in 2022. The British Retail Consortium (BRS) said there were significant headwinds for the industry in 2022 from high inflation, rising energy bills and planned tax increases.
In a joint report with the accountant firm KPMG, BRS said soaring living costs could erode households’ spending power and had the potential to weigh on retail sales after a strong festive season and a year of recovering ground that was lost during the first stage of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The latest snapshot reveals total retail sales rose by 2.1 per cent during the key month of December, compared with a year earlier and were up by 4.6 per cent compared with 2019 before the pandemic struck. While the British economy recovered from repeated lockdowns, total sales grew by 9.9 per cent compared with 2020, and by 6.6 per cent compared with 2019.
Retailers say the emergence of Omicron and increase pressure on household budgets could hit sales at the start of 2022. Chief executive of the BRC, Helen Dickinson said, “Retail faces significant headwinds in 2022, as consumer spending is held back by rising inflation, increasing energy bills, and April’s national insurance hike. It will take continued agility and resilience if they are to battle the storm ahead, while also tackling issues from labour shortages to rising transport and logistics costs.” She said many had chosen to shop online in December rather than travel to nearby high streets and shopping centres.