UK retail sales ticked up in July, partly reversing a plunge the month before, as warmer weather and major sporting events offered a boost to department stores and sportswear shops.
Retail sales volumes rose 0.5 per cent in July, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figure came in slightly below economists’ expectations of 0.6 per cent growth.
The data marks a partial recovery from a much worse than expected drop of 0.9 per cent (revised on Thursday from an initial estimate of 1.2 per cent) in June, partly caused by poor weather reducing footfall.
Non-food stores sales rose 1.4 per cent over the month, following a 1.9 per cent plunge in June.
The ONS said sales volumes in department stores and sports equipment retailers “grew strongly”, with businesses signalling that summer discounting and televised sporting events, like the Euros, boosted sales.
A busy summer of televised sport, including the Euros, Wimbledon and Olympics, has boosted demand for TVs and tablets.
Easing inflationary pressures and lower interest rates are expected provide a boost to consumer spending for the remainder of this year.
Friday’s data is among a raft of economic figures released this week that will provide key indicators for Bank of England policymakers as they decide whether to cut interest rates in September, after lowering borrowing costs for the first time since March 2020 earlier this month.
ONS numbers showed inflation moved way from the Bank’s two per cent target to hit 2.2 per cent in July – the first increase this year but below economists’ expectations of 2.3 per cent – while wage growth slowed to its lowest level in more than two years in the three months to June.
Figures out on Thursday showed the UK economy grew 0.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, in line with expectations, as it continued to bounce back from a shallow recession.
More to follow