Britain's high street retailers have suffered one of their toughest summers in years and are preparing for further bad news over the coming weeks, according to a survey.
A study by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) found one in five retailers believed the overall business outlook would deteriorate in the next quarter - the first time in seven years that firms had been more despondent than hopeful about prospects.
The CBI's underlying annual sales trend - measured over three months to cancel out blips - is also at the weakest in the survey's 22-year history.
That was after 45 per cent of retailers reported August sales volumes down on a year earlier, compared with 27 per cent who reported a rise. The balance of minus 18 per cent comes despite heavy price discounting and longer-than-normal summer sales.
John Longworth of the CBI said: "Conditions in August continued to be very tough for retailers and many fear the outlook is going to get worse before it improves, despite the recent interest rate cut.
He said the housing market slowdown continued to have a negative effect on many retailers, particularly DIY and furniture chains who had benefited from the boom times of recent years.
PA