UK retailers see sharp fall in sales and mounting job losses, CBI says

© Reuters. Shoppers walk down the street in London

LONDON (Reuters) - British retail sales fell in the year to February as stores cut jobs at a rapid rate, with only supermarkets reporting any growth during the latest COVID-19 lockdown, a survey showed on Thursday.

The Confederation of British Industry's gauge of retail sales stood at -45, up only slightly from January's eight-month low of -50. The measure points to falling sales and is below the consensus forecast of -38 in a Reuters poll of economists.

Retailers' expectations for March - when non-essential shops will remain closed to the public as part of lockdown measures - fell to -62, the lowest since the series began in 1983.

In another sign of a changing consumer habits during lockdown, the survey's gauge of internet retail sales hit a new record high.

"With lockdown measures still in place, trading conditions remain extremely difficult for retailers," said Ben Jones, principal economist at the CBI.

"Record growth in internet shopping suggests that retailers' investments in on-line platforms and click-and-collect services may be paying off, but the re-opening of the sector can't come soon enough to protect jobs and breathe life back into the sector."

Job losses among retailers accelerated according to a quarterly question in the survey. For the distribution sector as a whole, which includes wholesalers and car dealers, employment fell at a record rate, the CBI survey showed.