Spending 'focused on essential items'
Consumers are focusing their spending on essential items, according to the British Retail Consortium.
People spending money using credit cards, as well as other payment methods, are becoming more discerning due to the recession, the trade association suggested.
Richard Dodd, spokesman for the British Retail Consortium, said that food retailers are less affected than others but that retailers in general are finding things difficult.
"Particularly, retailers selling big ticket items - things related to the home like furniture, carpets and big electrical items are having a difficult time," he said.
His comments follow research from Datamonitor which showed that 43 per cent of respondents agreed that they had recently given up some of their favourite grocery brands.
A total of 43 per cent said they were making more efforts to cook from scratch.
Meanwhile, over half of those asked said they thought it was important to look their best in day to day life.
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