UK retail sales fall over new virus variant

Bloomberg

England’s third lockdown hit non-essential retailers harder than the previous one in November, with the new variant of the coronavirus hampering spending and confidence last month, according to the British Retail Consortium.
Clothing and footwear stores fared particularly badly as retailers on the whole saw the value of sales decline from a year earlier, the business lobby said. A similar picture emerged in a separate Barclaycard survey, which showed consumer spending falling sharply and Britons more worried about their jobs.
The findings are certain to intensify pressure on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak to use his budget to extend tax relief programs designed to help struggling shops and other businesses through the pandemic.
After a year of public restrictions to battle the spread of Covid-19, retailers are pinning their hopes on pent-up savings and a successful vaccine rollout to boost their fortunes.