Retailers hoping that strong sales in early January could foretell a less stressful 2003 are set to be disappointed, a survey has warned.

These figures cannot be taken as evidence that the recent downward trend will not continue Bill Moyes, director general, British Retail Consortium

Figures released by the British Retail Consortium and accountancy firm KPMG indicate that while January started strongly for stores, sales tailed off towards the end of the month.

Much of the spending early in the month came from customers who had delayed purchases from last year to capture the steep discounts retailers offered after the holiday season, the BRC said.

And the 4.1% increase in sales when compared with January 2002 - stripping out the effects of new store openings - was down on the 6% registered between 2001 and 2002.

'No respite'

With strong consumer sales credited for the much of the UK economy's resilience in the face of a global economic downturn, many observers even outside the retail trade have hoped for encouraging data.

And while Monday's figures show a steep tailing off for sales of electronic goods, trade in some areas, such as footwear and homewares, remained firm.

But the survey does indicate that retailers who were hoping for a respite from downward price pressure from canny shoppers and from rising overheads are not going to get their wish, the BRC said.

"There is no sense of optimism as sales were on the back of discounting in almost all areas of the High Street," said Bill Moyes, the BRC's director general.

"With so many purchases being postponed till after the Christmas period, these figures cannot be taken as evidence that the recent downward trend will not continue."