It's definitely a move in the right direction, but probably only a sustained series of cuts will be sufficient to persuade shoppers that they really do have more money in their pockets. Life is tough for most retailers at present and they will know yesterday's cut won't be enough to turn things round at a stroke.
But the picture is not all gloomy and the best retailers continue to do well, among them Debenhams, where as soon as the owners and management achieve one scheme to fill their boots further, they quickly move onto another.
Just weeks after completing a refinancing of the business, its venture capital owners, led by CVC and Texas Pacific, are reportedly planning a refloat of the business before the end of the year.
There's no doubt Debs has been one of the few star performers of retail this year. Under the experienced guidance of John Lovering and Rob Templeman, the department store has gone from strength to strength.
But maybe there's an element of hype about this story, preparing the ground for a flotation next year. By that time, the outcome of the all-important Christmas trading period will be known and the company should be benefiting from the conversions of the Allders stores it acquired, as well as from a raft of store openings.
It will be interesting to see the appetite of the City for a new float, considering that institutional investors will be asked to buy back a business they sold little over 18 months ago. Since then it has been stripped of its freehold property and the investors have taken out giant profits.
But few would bet against the venture capitalist and management making a killing on their investment, with the gullible pension fund managers again rushing in to help them do so.
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