Here’s more from my colleague Louis Ashworth on the drop in retail sales:
A post-lockdown shopping boom began to lose steam in July as abysmal weather later in the month was blamed for dampening retail spending.
Total sales rose by 6.4pc over the month compared with July 2020 according to the British Retail Consortium and KPMG, marking a slowdown from June’s 10.4pc year-on-year reading despite the continued re-opening.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “July continued to see strong sales, although growth has started to slow. The lifting of restrictions did not bring the anticipated in-store boost, with the wet weather leaving consumers reluctant to visit shopping destinations.”
Paul Martin, head of retail at KPMG, warned waning momentum could turn into a drop in shopping spending over the coming months.
“Staffing pressures, increases in commodity and component costs, rising inflation eating into households’ spending power and stalling consumer confidence could lead to a slowdown in retail sector growth as we head into autumn,” he said.
It came as…
