Economic uncertainty ‘still a concern’ for consumers

Consumers fearful of falling into debt are still concerned about an uncertain economy.

That is the view of an industry expert who was speaking in reference to retail figures released by the Office for National Statistics.

Stephen Robertson, British Retail Consortium director-general, said that despite increased sales in February, Britons are still wary about spending their money.

He commented that the numbers were boosted by sales postponed from January – especially non-food goods such as fashion and furniture – and have been made to look better as they have been compared against February 2009 – a month that saw the worst weather in Britain last year.

However, he added: “Job worries, tax increases and uncertainty over what is to come after the general election are causing customers to remain cautious.”

Earlier in the month, research conducted by uSwitch.com revealed that around 5.5 million households are now in debt to their energy suppliers because of the coldest winter in 30 years.

By Joe Shervin