Like-for-like retail sales have risen by 0.2% compared to the same period last year, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Retail Sales Monitor.

Clothing up but food down

It was the second consecutive month of growth but could have been bigger if food sales had improved.

The value of like-for-like food sales was down on last year’s figures. This was blamed on the falling food prices as major supermarkets compete for customers by cutting prices.

The clothing sector was the main contributor to the growth, despite cold weather hitting sales of spring ranges and an underperforming footwear sector.

Some retailers put the growth in clothing down to new ranges being added after months of discounted lines, which had been on the shelves since November's Black Friday.

Elsewhere, there was some growth in sales of furniture and household appliances. This was attributed to the recovery in the housing market.

Quiet month

BRC director general, Helen Dickinson says that as February is usually a quiet month for retailers any growth was ‘heartening’.

But David McCorquodale, KPMG's head of retail, was not so positive, saying there has been little in the way of meaningful growth as the high street settles into a ‘monotonous equilibrium’.

He says the falling like-for-like food sales were wiping out any growth from the non-food sector, and that February’s figures are particularly troubling when seen against the conditions last year, when bad weather caused sales to stall.

The figures were surprising to Mr McCorquodale, as he expected the combination of low interest rates and low inflation to spark some life into the retail sector.

However, he believes that it is restaurants not shops that are benefitting from any extra cash consumers have from the drop in fuel prices.

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