The uptick in the UK\u2019s total retail sales was against growth of 0.5% last July and the 12-month average growth of 1.9%, according to British Retail Consortium (BRC)-KPMG data.<\/p>\n
Food sales increased by 3.9% on last July due to warm weather and a packed sporting schedule, although rising food inflation \u2013 now at 4%, according to latest BRC figures \u2013 meant increased spending was more a result of higher prices than improved demand.<\/p>\n
Non-food sales increased by 1.4% against a decline of 1.8% last July, with figures showing fashion sold well early in the month but deteriorated as weather worsened, while homeware and indoor furniture sales grew steadily, recovering from the previous year\u2019s decline.<\/p>\n
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: \u201cWith sales growth at these levels, it is barely touching the sides of covering the \u00a37 billion new costs imposed on retailers at the last Budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the upcoming Autumn Budget sees more taxes levied on retailers\u2019 shoulders, many will be forced to make difficult choices about the future of shops and jobs, and ongoing pressure would push prices higher.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, this means more families struggling, particularly those on lower incomes, reduced consumer spending and a drag on economic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda Ellett, UK head of consumer, retail and leisure markets at KPMG, said: \u201cThe UK\u2019s fifth warmest July on Met Office record brought a boost to home appliance and food and drink sales. But rising inflation was also a driver of the latter and monthly non-food sales are only growing at around 1% on average at present.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith employment costs having risen and inflation both a business and consumer side pressure, it remains a challenging trading environment for many retailers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Separate figures from Barclays show consumer card spending grew 1.4% year-on-year in July \u2013 up from a decline of 0.1% in June \u2013 with discretionary spending up 2.4% as changeable weather led shoppers to both sunny and rainy day activities and items.<\/p>\n
Barclays also found clothing performing strongly, up 4.2%, while growth in online retail spending excluding groceries reached 4.9%, up from 2.4% in June, as shoppers made the most of discounted items and sales events including Prime Day.<\/p>\n
Pharmacy, health and beauty performed strongly, up 9.8%, while continuing to benefit from the enduring post-Covid \u201clipstick effect\u201d \u2013 where shoppers turn to small and affordable luxuries to boost their mood, Barclays said.<\/p>\n
However, confidence in the strength of the UK economy dipped once again in July, falling three points month-on-month to 22%, the lowest level seen since January\u2019s 21%.<\/p>\n
Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays, said: \u201cThe summer sales, changeable weather and shoppers seeking the \u201cfeel-good factor\u201d led to a strong July for retailers, particularly among beauty, clothing and furniture stores.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile confidence in the UK economy remains subdued, prudent money management, supported by the growing popularity of AI tools to help with budgeting, is contributing to a continued resilience in personal and household finances.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The uptick in the UK\u2019s total retail sales was against growth of 0.5% last July and the 12-month…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60531,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,1294,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-60530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}