Retail sales increase shows recovery is gathering momentum

20th January 2014

Retail sales volumes rose 2.

6% in December 2013 Over the 12 months to December 2013, retail sales volumes increased by 5.3% Internet sales increased by 11.8% in December 2013, compared with December 2012 Commenting on the retail sales for December 2013, published today by the ONS, David Kern, Chief Economist at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said: -These retail sales figures are good news and will help offset some concerns that the Christmas shopping period was rather weak. The recovery is gathering momentum and as our recent Quarterly Economic Survey shows, the pace of expansion is likely to strengthen in the near term. The government must avoid complacency, and should continue to implement measures to boost growth, particularly while risks to the recovery still linger at home and abroad.