With a quarter day looming in December many retailers will be hoping for healthy sales in the run-up to Christmas in order to pay their rent.
We are led to believe that an economic recovery is consolidating and that 2014 will continue the upward trajectory, but on the High Street the picture is not so clear.
There is already some evidence that the pre-Christmas rush has been delayed with consumers waiting for last-minute reductions. Figures from the accountant BDO showed that High street sales fell in the first week of December by 4.1% in non-food sales to December 8, while online shopping rose by 25%.
Fashion stores seem to have suffered worst with sales in the first week of December down by 5.9% and H & M already launching a winter sale offering reductions of up to 60%.
Whether High Street shopping picks up in the next few days remains to be seen, but there is a likelihood that with wages lagging behind the cost of living and significant energy cost increases the much vaunted consumer-led recovery may not be as lively as hoped.
Complicating the picture is the growth of the “buy local” movement, which may encourage more shoppers to patronise their small, local independent stores for both food and non-food items, especially unusual gifts.
Looks like it might be an interesting start to the New Year.