Retailer survey predicts bumper Christmas
A new survey has suggested that retailers are gearing up for what they believe will be a bumper Christmas this year.
The poll of over 9,000 UK businesses by retail trade show Autumn Fair International has revealed that 59% of retailers believe Christmas 2014 will be “up or up a lot” compared with last year. 39% said they think it will be about the same, with only 2% saying it will be down.
In addition, a total of 57% of retailers said they think that consumer confidence will grow stronger over the next 12 months while 42% said they believe it will stay about the same.
The optimism is also underlined by the fact that 51.8% of the retailers polled said they believe their business will be “strong or stronger” over the next 12 months. This has jumped from 40.5% of retailers saying they were optimistic about their business just six months ago and up from 23.8% a year ago.
Sarah McLaughlin, portfolio director of Autumn Fair International, said: “Our retail poll is becoming an important barometer for the industry and we have certainly seen confidence building over the last 12 months. This was seen in February at our sister event, Spring Fair International, where forward orders for this Christmas were very strong.”
Supported by UK Trade and Investment and serving the gift and home accessories sectors, Autumn Fair International opens on Sunday 7 September and will see close to 30,000 buyers attend.
