Record fall of 14% in retail sales

RETAIL sales plunged a record 14% in 2009, in what was the worst year ever for a sector, crippled by job losses and falling sales.

The volume of consumer spending fell sharply during the course of 2009, reversing the increases of the previous three years and bringing personal expenditure back to 2005 levels.

Stripping out motor sales, the volume of retail sales fell by 0.9% from November to December, bringing the annual fall in retail sales for the year to December to 6.7%. The 14% drop was the biggest in any year since records began in 1962.