Sector movers: Sharp discounts among retailers
Retailers are pinning their hopes on a last minute rush to save the vitally important Christmas trading period from being a damp squib.
Figures for Saturday, 15 December showed football in Britain's stores down an alarming 5.9% on the corresponding day of last year, and though numbers are expected to pick up as Christmas Day approaches, many retailers are having to offer steep discounts to entice shoppers through the door.
Household goods retailer Home Retail Group, Dixons and Curry's group DSG International and high street fashion chain Next are all doing especially badly today, with Marks & Sparks and Kingfisher not far behind in the misery stakes.
Consumer sentiment has been further eroded by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) downgrading its outlook for UK economic growth in 2008. The business pressure group expects annual growth will hit 2% next year, down from the 2.2% predicted in September.
However, internet sales may come to the rescue of high street retail chains whose branches are looking uncharacteristically empty at this time of the year. Figures from the Internet Media Group, whose members include Amazon and Marks & Spencer, predict online sales for the whole year to be £53billion, while the group predicts around 15% of all Christmas shopping in the UK will be done online this year.
Britons are the kings of online shopping in Europe, accounting for just under 40% of the continent's web-based sales.
Argos.com, run by Home Retail Group, and Tesco.com are among the top 5 most popular online shopping destinations in the UK.
Top performing sectors so far today
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No sectors show a rise this morning
Bottom performing sectors so far today
General Industrials 2,499.90 -4.20%
Electronic & Electrical Equipment 1,697.30 -3.71%
Insurance (non-life) 1,249.00 -3.57%
Life Insurance 5,277.30 -3.34%
General Retailers 1,871.70 -3.30%
