# Valentine’s Day spending boosts British retail sales in February – BRC
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2023-03-07
Category: NEWS
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/news
Meta Title: British Retail Sales Boosted by Valentine's Day
Meta Description: Discover how Valentine's Day helped increase British retail sales in February, yet volumes remain lower as households cut back on non-essential items.
URL: https://financedigest.com/valentines-day-spending-boosts-british-retail-sales-in-february-brchtml

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By Suban Abdulla

LONDON (Reuters) – Valentine’s Day helped to boost British retail sales in February but volumes remained down on last year as households cut back on non-essential items, a survey published on Tuesday showed.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said spending in store chains increased 5.2% in annual terms last month, well below the 6.7% rise in February 2022. [Sales were up on the 4.2% rise](https://www.financedigest.com/mercedes-posts-rise-in-q1-sales-boosted-by-evs-premium-cars.html "Mercedes posts rise in Q1 sales boosted by EVs, premium cars") in January.

Helen Dickinson, BRC’s chief executive said retailers face volatile trading conditions as consumers will be [worried about energy prices and their taxes which are set to rise](https://www.financedigest.com/sterling-rises-as-receding-bank-sector-worries-lift-sentiment.html "Sterling rises as receding bank sector worries lift sentiment") further in April.

The BRC figures are not adjusted for inflation, meaning the [rise in sales](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-new-car-sales-rise-17-in-march-best-ever-month-for-evs.html "UK new car sales rise 17% in March; best ever month for EVs") masked a much larger drop in volumes.

While the Bank of England has signalled that inflation has [turned the tide](https://www.financedigest.com/is-the-tide-turning-for-chinese-brands-overseas.html "IS THE TIDE TURNING FOR CHINESE BRANDS OVERSEAS?"), British households are still contending with inflation running at over 10%, more than five times the Bank’s 2% target.

The BoE raised interest rates to 4% in February and hinted that it was [close to ending its run of rate hikes but said there were concerns about inflationary pressure in the labour](https://www.financedigest.com/can-digital-labour-displace-cfos-in-the-close-process.html "CAN ‘DIGITAL LABOUR’ DISPLACE CFOS IN THE CLOSE PROCESS?") market. Financial markets expect [interest rates](https://www.financedigest.com/ecbs-centeno-says-interest-rate-close-to-peaking-if-no-new-shocks.html "ECB’s Centeno says interest rate close to peaking if no new shocks"), now the highest since 2008, to rise to 4.75% later this year.

Despite recent signs of improvement in Britain’s economic prospects, Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG which co-produces the figures, said the outlook for the retail sector will continue to be challenging with [consumer spending](https://www.financedigest.com/50-of-consumers-wont-spend-more-than-20-minutes-applying-for-financial-products-online.html "50% of consumers won’t spend more than 20 minutes applying for financial products online") falling in real terms.

Separate data from Barclays showed consumer [spending on payment cards](https://www.financedigest.com/should-we-be-more-cautious-about-contactless-1-in-4-young-adults-with-contactless-cards-say-theyve-increased-their-spending.html "Should we be more cautious about contactless? 1 in 4 young adults with contactless cards say they’ve increased their spending") rose by 5.9% year-on-year in February.

Barclays said annual growth rates were impacted by the lifting of Omicron [Plan B restrictions last year](https://www.financedigest.com/3-factors-to-plan-for-in-2017-a-year-like-none-other.html "3 Factors to Plan for in 2017, A Year Like None Other"), which caused a spike in spending due to pent-up demand.

Esme Harwood, Director at Barclays, said several categories saw growth taper off in February as cash-strapped shoppers, [hit by higher prices](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-shop-price-inflation-hits-record-8-in-january-brc.html "UK shop price inflation hits record 8% in January: BRC") and shortages in fruit and vegetables, changed their grocery shopping habits.

The recent fruit and veg shortages are forcing Brits to consider [alternatives for their weekly shop](https://www.financedigest.com/whats-better-than-openai-developers-shop-for-alternatives.html "What’s better than OpenAI? Developers shop for alternatives"), as they continue to look for savvy ways to offset rising food price inflation,” Harwood said.

Popular trends this month include [buying ‘dupes’ of popular products](https://www.financedigest.com/over-half-of-britons-say-loyalty-cards-encourage-them-to-buy-a-product-niq.html "Over half of Britons say loyalty cards encourage them to buy a product – NIQ"), shopping at discount stores, and limiting Easter spending.

(Reporting by Suban Abdulla)


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