Faith in the High Street Slumps Because of Sales

MANCHESTER, England, March 14, 2011 - Over three quarters of UK shoppers are sick and tired of the deceptive
sales tactics being used by Britain's biggest retailers - and it's prompting
them to stop spending.

Mistrust of the 'better than half price' sales and 'last chance' offers
everywhere goes so deep that two thirds of customers delay making purchases
in case they're being conned - a third give up on buying altogether.

Estate agents and furniture retailers are seen as the main offenders,
with 95% of shoppers questioned in a new survey highlighting their dodgy
pricing policies as misleading.

This comes after Channel 4's 'Secret Shopper' programme exposed the lack
of honest pricing in the furniture retail industry, and days after The Grocer
magazine revealed Tesco has been duping shoppers in the same way -
artificially increasing prices on products for a short period to then promote
'price cuts'.

Sofa retailer csl, who commissioned the survey, is calling for an end to
underhand sales tactics. csl is preparing a consumer petition to present to
the OFT to try and change the current system, which allows for these
practices.

Jason Tyldesley, csl's managing director said: "With the UK recovering
from recession, this lack of trust in retailers is bad news, and the
furniture industry is the worst offender.

"We've banned price establishment reductions and introduced a new 'best
price guaranteed' policy for the best deal all year round.

"We want other high street stores to deal with their customers in a more
open and honest way."

Survey commissioned by csl; 1,000 shoppers surveyed on weekend of 5th
March 2011

- 83% of shoppers feel that retailers are trying to mislead then with
sales adverts.

- Chemists were highlighted as the most trustworthy retailers on the high
street, with 45% of those surveyed saying they 'totally trust' them.

- The least trustworthy are furniture retailers, estate agents and
electricals/ entertainment advisors.

- 62% of shoppers have found themselves delaying making a large purchase
because of confusing sales tactics. 32% delayed their decisions by up to 3
weeks, 28% by over six months and 10% by over a year. 30% abandoned
purchasing forever.

csl, which operates from 18 stores across the UK, was
established by the Tyldesley family with a single shop in Burnley in 1984.

Info: Ruth Wilson on +44(0)161-235-0300 or email ruth.wilson at citypress.co.uk