Practices well placed to weather downturn

Opticians are the least likely out of eight retail categories to suffer a decline in sales caused by the economic downturn, according to a new study.

Findings of The Wanted Ads Retail study of over 1,000 respondents commissioned by the Newspaper Society revealed that less than a quarter (24 per cent) of consumers are tightening their belts on spending on opticians.

That figure compares to 29 per cent who are cutting back on toys, 39 per cent who are slashing their DIY or gardening budgets and 41 per cent who are reining in their spending on furniture.

The survey also revealed that clothing and fashion is set to experience the most severe slowdown with 61 per cent of respondents stating that they were cutting spending in this category.