UK retail insurance holders saw like-for-like sales value fall by 0.1 per cent in August when compared to last year, it has been revealed.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) also pointed out that sales volumes fell in August 2008, after being driven down by poor weather.
Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC, pointed out that retail insurance holders were unable to hold onto the strong sales achieved in June and July.
"It's clear the deceptively good sales growth of those months was due to summer sun and price cuts - not any major revival in how customers are feeling," he added.
Helen Dickinson, head of retail at professional services provider KPMG, commented that retail insurance holders could be facing problems with cost control and generating cashflow in light of the new findings.
Recent research from the Confederation of British Industry claimed that retailers are seeing improvements in confidence, even though sales are falling.
