The woes of retailers, due to the economic downslide, continued in September, as 48% of them reported a fall in sales, with just 21% posting a rise during August 18 and September 17. This was revealed in findings of the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI’s) Distributive Trades Survey, which predicted no recovery until autumn 2009

According to retail director Andy Clarke, at supermarket grocer Asda, consumer spending was largely impacted by the credit crunch-related news and nobody was sure what would happen to the performance in the prevailing volatile environment.

However as per the survey findings, the net balance of 27% negative retailers who posted drop in sales was better than August’s record low of 46% negative. The improvement was due to the contribution of grocers, 37% of which remained in positive territory. The non-grocery retail posted fall during the same period.

Industry experts see a bleak Christmas for the retailers.

Senior manager of retail accountancy firm Ernst and Young, Martin Carr, is predicting that many retailers might go on sales much before Christmas due to falling house prices and squeeze on household expenses. He noted that retail sales were closely impacted by house prices. Many people were reported switching over to Aldi, Primark and Lidl for getting discounts on purchases.

The CBI is forecasting declining sales in October by the negative balance of 30% of retailers. It is predicting mild negativity in third and fourth quarter but saw shoots of recovery, one year from now