Sales of retail goods rose in January, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said, after shops cut prices to encourage consumers to keep spending.

On a like-for-like basis, retail sales rose 1.1% compared with a year earlier, the biggest increase since May 2008. “These surprisingly good figures give some reason for optimism,” said Stephen Robertson at the BRC.

The BBC New Channel reported that ‘Clothing and footwear saw the biggest rise in sales, up 6.1%,’ according to the ONS.

Obviously savvy shopper have keenly opted to make their main purchases during the Jan sale (and why not, I did).  However roll on the Spring Sales I say!

If you are still thinking about purchasing a Fireplace at a bargain price then the Gallery Spring Sale is almost upon us.  I will keep you posted.