Are we seeing a recovery on the UK high street?
A number of UK retail companies have, over the last few days, published suggestions that life on the high street could be improving with sales set to rise in the short term. While we await official retail figures from the various retail agencies and more detailed guidance from retail companies, it does appear as though the last couple of weeks have seen an increase in activity on the high street.
Despite the very broad range of reports about the UK economy, some suggesting a recovery and some suggesting further downside, there are growing signs of consumer confidence returning to the marketplace. However, one potential fly in the ointment is the employment market which is under significant pressure at this moment in time and will be for some time to come. As we have mentioned on a number of occasions, even if the UK economy was to recover sharply in the short term this would have little impact on short-term employment prospects as there is a lag between recovery and employment.
We await the next round of retail sales reports with anticipation as many analysts start to look ahead to the future with a renewed vigour and more positive outlook.
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