The past year has been characterised by low retail sales growth which has remained below current inflation, with the trend continuing into 2023.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) forecasts that sales are expected to pick up in the second half of the year, as inflation potentially slows and consumer confidence improves.

Total growth is expected at the rate of 1% to 2.3% for the first half, before eventually rising to 3.5% to 4.7% in the second.

This comes in comparison to the 2022 figures, where total retail sales growth for the second half came in at 2.3%.