February sun lifts London retailers

Retail sales in London were 10.5% up in February compared with a year earlier, figures released today show.

According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the increase is higher than the 8.1% growth seen in February 2007, and an improvement on the 6.2% average for the fourth quarter of 2007.

The number of people shopping in the capital was also up, with footfall rising for the first month since October 2007. The BRC stressed, however, that snow last February had discouraged shoppers.

The like-for-like figures exclude shops that started up or closed their doors during the period.

"These figures suggest the best like-for-like growth since October, but that isn't because individuals are feeling any better off or spending more," said BRC director general Stephen Robertson.

Helen Dickinson, head of retail for KPMG, which gathers data for the BRC's sales monitor, added: "[These figures are] driven by high levels of promotional, discounting and clearance activity, as well as significant variations in the performance of individual retailers.

"However, consumer confidence remains fragile and the London performance certainly is not being replicated in other cities across the country."