Retail sales fell last month as the colder weather for most of June put a dampener on consumer spending.
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show sales volumes dropped 1.2% in June, following a 2.9% rise in May.
Non-food stores sales fell 2.1% last month – driven by election uncertainty, poor weather and low footfall, retailers reported.
Out of those, the ONS reported strong downward contributions from department stores, clothing and footwear retailers, and furniture stores.
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Retail sales for food stores fell by 1.1% in June, due to both poor weather and cautious consumer spending, retailers reported.
Online spending dropped 2.7% last month on May’s figures – but rose 2.3% when compared to June 2023.
British Retail Consortium director of insight Kris Hamer said: “It has been a gloomy start to Summer spending. Sales volumes declined in June, falling for the fourth time in six months due to the colder than usual June and high costs for households.
“Categories sensitive to weather, such as clothing performed particularly poorly. Some electronic categories had a better month due to consumers replacing their pandemic purchases, and sports aficionados upgraded their home entertainment systems to better experience the excitement of the Euros, Wimbledon, and upcoming Olympics. Books also sold well as consumers readied their summer reads for the holidays.
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