Marked deterioration in business conditions in the retail sector
05 April 2016
Results from the latest EY/Bureau for Economic Research (BER) Retail survey point to a further substantial deterioration in business conditions in the retail sector during 2016Q1. The vast majority of BER Retail Survey participants have been reporting a relapse in business conditions since 2015Q3, but the rate of decline worsened notably in 2016Q1. Derek Engelbrecht, Consumer Products & Retail sector leader at EY, said that "Whereas sales of durable goods[1] had already come under pressure during the second half of 2015, it appears as though soaring purchasing prices and weak demand have now also started to weigh on the profitability of retailers in non-durable[2] and semi-durable[3] goods."[4]