In June, UK retail sales saw a year-on-year increase, accompanied by a boost in consumer confidence, despite ongoing concerns surrounding inflation and rising interest rates.
According to the British Retail Consortium‘s monthly monitor, total sales rose by 4.9% – above the three-month average growth of 4.6% and the annual average growth rate of 4%. This was due to heatwaves boosting purchases of swimwear and beach towels, sunscreen, outdoor games, garden furniture and barbecue food.
Although inflation pushed up the overall value of spending, masking a drop in sales volumes, there was an evident pick up in revenues from May. Food sales were also up 9.8% on a total basis in the three months to June, well above the 12-month average of 7.7%.
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BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Consumer confidence remains fragile.
“But, with headline food inflation easing for two months in a row as prices of essentials start to fall thanks to stiff competition and consumers continuing to shift shopping patterns to mitigate as much inflation as they can, confidence could improve.”
KPMG UK head of retail Paul Martin added: “Apart from a blip in May, retail sales growth has remained steady at around 5% every month in the first half of this year.
“As we move into the last half the year, retailers will be hoping that anticipated falls in inflation start to deliver stronger sales growth in order to improve the overall health of the sector.
“The wild card continues to be food inflation which remain stubborn and is having a negative impact on consumers’ ability to spend on non-essential items.”
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