UK retail sales growth slowed in July
New figures have shown that UK retail sales edged up 0.9% year-on-year on a like-for-like basis in July. Total sales rose by 1.4%.
This follows a 1.2% rise in like-for-like sales in June when trade was boosted by warmer weather.
The figures from the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor also reveal that food sales increased by 2.3% on a like-for-like basis and by 3.4% on a total basis between May and July.
During the same period, non-food retail sales decreased by 0.7% on a like-for-like basis and by 0.4% on a total basis.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Sales growth slowed in July from June. That said, given the strong performance of the same month the previous year, the figures are fairly solid. Closer inspection of the headlines however unveils some familiar challenges.
“The month’s growth was underpinned by food sales alone, while non-food sales relapsed into negative territory as the competition heats up over a shrinking pool of discretionary consumer spending power.”
Meanwhile, online sales of non-food products grew by 8.3% in July, compared to 11.2% a year earlier. Over the three months to July, online sales of non-food products climbed by 7.8%.
During the three month period, in-store sales fell by 2.6% on a total basis and by 3% on a like-for-like basis.
