Retail sales increased in February, but the picture is not as rosy as might be imagined, a new report has found.
According to research conducted by the British Retail Consortium and KPMG, retail sales for February increased by 10.5 per cent in Central London when compared to the same time last year.
Retail footfall in the capital also showed an increase on the figure for February 2007, the first year-on-year increase since October.
However, Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC, explained that despite these seemingly strong figures, all is not as it seems.
He said: "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.
"In fact average spend rose only slightly while total shopper numbers were up on last February when many were put off by a bout of wintry weather."
Last week the Federation of Small Businesses launched a campaigned aimed at encouraging people to use local small retailers.
