Breakfast briefing: Retail news on consumer confidence, Matalan and Amazon

British consumer confidence slips back into negative territory

UK consumer confidence fell in July after six months of growth. The GfK NOP index slipped to -2, driven by consumers feeling less upbeat about the economic recovery. All five components of the index dropped.

Matalan contributes to Rana Plaza victims’ trust fund

British clothing retailer Matalan has bowed to pressure and contributed to the UN-backed trust fund to compensate the victims of the Rana Plaza factory collapse, one day before the deadline for payments. The chain, however, declined to say how much money it had donated to the fund, the Guardian reported. Matalan has also offered money to the Rana Plaza Survivors Rehabilitation Scheme, which is managed by Bangladeshi development organisation BRAC.

Amazon to inject $2bn in Indian operations

Online giant Amazon.com is planning to invest $2bn (£1.18bn) in its Indian operations to challenge its local rival Flipkart Online Services, Bloomberg reported. The spending will back the company’s growth with India on track to become the fastest market to hit $1bn of gross sales.