18 Dec 2017 --- As Christmas fast-approaches, new research indicates that coffee sales are cushioning local retailers through the festive season but this life-line is threatened by a potential latte levy. With October’s retail sales falling at the quickest rate since 2009 – the height of the financial crisis – (according to the CBI Distributive Trades Survey) and online sales volumes expanding, high street retailers are feeling the pinch. Data from Retail Futures shows, in the six years between 2012 and 2018 some 22 percent of shops will have closed.
