// Retail sales volumes, excluding fuel, fell 5.9% year on year
// Online sales fell to their lowest proportion of total sales since the start of the pandemic
UK retail sales fell in June, despite the Platinum Jubilee boost, as online sales fell to their lowest level since the start of the pandemic.
Sales volumes, excluding fuel, fell 5.9% year on year, whilst sales value edged up 1.7%, according to the Office of National Statistics.
Online sales fell by 9.9% year on year as ecommerce accounted for 25.3% of all sales in June. This is the lowest proportion since March 2020.
ONS said this is a continuation of a broad falling trend since its peak of 37.4% of retail sales in February 2021.
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Despite the fall in June, the proportion of online sales remains above its level of 19.7% in February 2020, before the pandemic hit.
Food sales volumes rose by 3.1% as grocers benefitted from the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. However, non-food sales fell 0.7%, dragged down by a 4.7% fall in clothing sales and a 3.7% on household goods as shoppers cut back on big ticket items.
Fuel volumes fell by 4.3% in June as consumers avoided filling up as petrol and diesel prices rose to record highs.
Accenture head of retail in the UK and Ireland Lynda Petherick said: “The continuing slide in consumer spending is another blow to a retail sector already grappling with increasing costs and decreasing customer spending.
“Many businesses will have been hoping that the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the long weekend would have given them cause for celebration, but it clearly wasn’t enough to offset battered consumer confidence.”
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