Atradius has warned that economic and political uncertainty, sluggish sales growth and weak consumer confidence have hampered the sector’s 2019 outlook.

The credit insurer said factors including the increased cost of raw materials in furniture retailing, lack of innovation and longer product lifecycles in electricals, and poor buying patterns and import costs across fashion and footwear have also all hindered the sector’s performance.

Atradius forecast that after an 86% surge in the number of CVAs undertaken by retailers last year, the number of CVAs will rise a further 5% this year to 2,730.