Retailers "feeling quite optimistic" ahead of Christmas as retail sales rise

The CBI’s latest Distributive Trades Survey revealed that business sentiment about the retail sector for the coming three months is positive for the first time since August 2007.

Around 40 per cent of those who responded to the survey said that their volume of sales in the year to November had risen, while 27 per cent said sales had fallen. A positive balance of 13 per cent is the second month of growth in a row, although not as strong as the 19 per cent expected. The last time the balance was so strong was in November 2007.

A balance of 19 per cent of retailers said that sales volumes would improve compared with December last year.

The CBI said that the high street is “feeling quite optimistic” thanks to the growth in sales.

The volume of orders place on suppliers was up by a balance of 12 per cent for the first time since January 2008, and was the highest since November 2007.

Encouragingly, only a net two per cent of firms said that sales were poor for the time of year, better than a predicted balance of seven per cent. A net three per cent of companies said they expect sales to be above the seasonal norm for December.

The CBI’s survey found that the three month moving average of sales volumes turned into a positive balance of eight per cent and is expected to reach 14 per cent in December.

A balance of eight per cent of companies said that existing stocks are enough to meet demand.

In the last quarter, a balance of 27 per cent said they had been required to cut jobs, a figure that is expected to be repeated in December. Despite this the figure is a significant improvement from the balance of 41 per cent in August who said they had to lay off workers.