FTSE Posts All-Time High Again – Retail Sales Show Strong Start to 2025
UK retailers posted higher sales in January compared to the same month last year. Retailers see job cuts for 2025 due to new budget levies.
- January retail spending rose by 2.6% compared to 2024
- YoY consumer spending was up 1.9%
- Consumer confidence down to -22 in January
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The FTSE posted another all-time today of 8,791 before declining slightly. The main UK stock index started the week with a previous ATH yesterday.
Retail Spending Remains High
Consumers started the year spending more than they did in January 2024. The British Retail Consortium posted dated showing an increase of 2.6% of the same month last year.
The number is also considerably higher than the average monthly growth of 0.8% over the past year.
Barclays also reported consumer spending up 1.9% on the year, the highest figure since March 2024.
The data shows a contrast in consumer confidence, which came in at -22 in January, dropping 4 points from December’s number of -18.
“January sales kicked off a solid month for retail,” BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said. “While the bouts of stormy weather put a temporary dampener on demand, sales growth held up well throughout the rest of the month.”
FTSE Live Chart
Retailers See Tough Year Ahead
Some of the main UK retailers have signaled a tough year ahead, these include Tesco, Next, and Marks & Spencer.
Their main concerns are the increases in employer taxes and the pressure they may add to prices and job growth.
The UK’s second largest supermarket chain, Sainsbury’s stated plans to cut over 3,000 jobs in 2025. The supermarket chain stated concerns of what it sees as a “particularly challenging cost environment”.
Retail spending data showed a rise of 1.3% in Q4 2024 excluding auto fuel, but when adjusted for inflation the volume of sales showed a drop of 2%.
January’s figure from the BRC also needs some context. The figure from January 2024 was particularly weak, while sales for December 2024 showed a rise of 3.1%.
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