Retailers will be cutting prices in January to attract shoppers conscious of keeping tighter control over their personal finances, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said. Kevin Hawkins, the BRC’s director general, believes that retailers will be forced into heavy discounting during the first part of 2008 in order to pull in customers. Mr Hawkins said: “With customers short on spare cash and nervous about how their finances will shape up in the New Year, it’ll be a bumper January sales with bargains to be had as stores compete to tempt customers in. “Retailers who haven’t done the business they expected before Christmas will be very keen to cut their losses and shift whatever seasonal stock they’ve been left with.” Mr Hawkins added: “With a challenging first half of the year virtually guaranteed for all consumer-facing businesses, retailers will be discounting well into 2008. On its own, December’s interest rate cut won’t overcome the developing slowdown. I hope the Bank of England have more pencilled in for January and March or April.” Date:4 January 2008
Content by: Made Simple Group
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