Retail sales estimates for the next six months have been revised dramatically upwards as the uptick in the economy gains momentum.
The Opera Solutions Retail Predictor for Retail Week has revised upwards its forecast for sales over the next six months by an average of 0.8% percentage points.
Retail sales are expected to increase 3% year on year in September, 4% in October and 4.2% in November, before rising to 4.6% in December and 5.4% in January.
The revised figures come as the Confederation of British Industry this week raised its forecasts for UK economic growth for 2013 and 2014.
However, Opera said that with high inflation impacting consumer purchasing, the continuation of underlying growth remained uncertain.
Despite the revised figures, retail sales levels still remain lower than the 10-year average.
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