Record-breaking sales at John Lewis bode well for the future

UK shopping giant John Lewis has this week announced bumper retail figures for the festive period which bode well for the short to medium term. There was a feeling that, as the festive period came to an end, UK retailers had done better than many had expected and even surpassed the hopes of those more optimistic research analysts. So what does this mean for the short to medium term outlook in the UK?

It would seem as though UK retailers have found their voices again and are more than willing to walk the high streets up and down the UK in search of bargains and offers. Indeed we have today seen news that supermarkets in the UK are discounting products at levels not seen for over a decade with the need to continue this ongoing recovery in the retail sector. Whether this will be at the expense of small to medium sized operators remains to be seen but the UK retail sector continues to surprise on the upside although many are waiting for a setback.

The UK government will be hoping that the increase in VAT will have a limited impact on the UK economy and any slack should hopefully be taken up by an ongoing recovery in the overall UK economy.