Consumers warned 2010 will be difficult

British consumers should expect to face more financial difficulty this year than during 2009, a financial expert has claimed.

Richard Perks, director of retail research at Mintel, said it is “obvious” that living costs are going to rise while income is squeezed.

The tough times are “really still to come,” Perks said.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean we are going to have a double dip recession, but I think for consumers that is what it is going to feel like,” he added.

“It’s very obvious we are going to have rising taxes and interest rates, and that is really going to topple consumers.

“I think they are likely to end 2010 in a much worse situation than in 2009.”

Perks made the comments after the British Retail Consortium found that retail sales rose 2.2% last month compared to February 2009.

Food sales slowed because of the snowy weather in January, which caused people to stock up, but sales of non-food items such as clothing and footwear increased significantly.

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