Key facts
- UK retail sales growth slowed to 0.7% year-on-year in August.
- This marks a four-month low for retail sales growth.
- Food sales increased by 2.6% in August.
- Non-food sales decreased by 0.8% in August.
- The slowdown is attributed to the cooling effect of the summer heatwave and rising household bills.
- Retailers are urging the government to cut taxes ahead of the upcoming Budget.
UK retail sales growth slowed to a four-month low in August, with total sales increasing by 0.7% year-on-year, down from 1.3% in July, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Like-for-like sales growth also decelerated to 0.5% from 1% in the previous month.
The slowdown was attributed to the fading impact of record-hot weather earlier in the summer, which had boosted sales in May and continued to influence food, drink, health, and beauty purchases into August. However, most other retail categories struggled to maintain growth.
Food sales saw a year-on-year increase of 2.6% in August, a decrease from 3.8% in July. Non-food sales declined by 0.8% in August, following a 0.7% drop in July, and were weaker than the average 0.2% growth seen over the past year. Shoppers reportedly cut back on larger purchases like furniture and appliances in favor of less expensive health and beauty items.
The BRC data, which is not adjusted for inflation, is based on sales recorded by major retailers between August 2 and August 29. Official retail sales data indicated a slowdown in volume growth to 1.6% in July from 3.8% in June. Separately, Barclays reported that overall consumer spending grew 2.1% in August, a slight increase from 2.0% in July, but consumer confidence fell to 26% from July's 21-month high of 30%.