UK shop prices expected to drop in run-up to Christmas

PRICES in British shops have dropped 1.8 per cent lower in October than a year earlier, British Retail Consortium (BRC) said on November 4.

The BRC has said shop prices are expected to keep declining in the run-up to the Christmas trading period as retailers attempt to attract more shoppers then. Clothing, books and DIY items experienced more deflation levels compared to food and non-food prices in the last month, the BRC said. 

Mike Watkins, head of retail and business insight at data company Nielsen, which gathers the data said: “With the all-important Christmas trading season arriving soon, non-food retailers will need to maintain these lower prices to drive footfall.”

According to Reuters, the Bank of England said it expected inflation to pick up in 2016.