"A shift to internet sales could be the break to the current holding pattern retailers are looking for."

Barclays (LON:BARC) have said they believe the retail landscape of the UK is unlikely to improve in the near future; it is not expected to get any worse either.

Barclays Commercial Bank made the comments as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Distributive Trades Survey for June 2009 showed that retail sales fell in June.

The June falls were similar to those recorded in May. April saw a pick up in retail sales.

Richard Lowe, Head of Retail and Wholesale, Barclays Commercial Bank said:

“The June figures from the CBI reaffirm suspicions that the retail sector is being held in a stationary pattern with little indication of an upward or downward trend. Retailers are looking to drive sales and hope to attract greater footfall during the current sales.

“A shift to internet sales could be the break to the current holding pattern retailers are looking for. The recent recovery in the strength of the pound vs the Euro and US$ is also most welcome.

Retailers have however indicated that stocks are running low indicating that orders are expected to increase.

Reflecting this, orders placed by retailers with their suppliers were cut at the slowest rate since March 2008 (a balance of -10% according to the CBI’s latest Distributive Trades Survey).

Retailers expect they will fall slightly faster in July (-14%).

31% of retailers said year-on-year sales volumes rose in the first two weeks of June, 48% said they were down, giving a balance of -17%.

Retailers expect sales to fall slightly faster in July, but this balance of -21% is similar to expectations for June (-20%).