Sales of smart clothes and cosmetics are on the rise as weddings and events return, according to new data.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG monthly sales monitor shows that retail sales continued to rise last month, although poor weather hampered the high street as shoppers stayed away.
Online sales remain strong with formalwear and beauty sales particularly high as people prepared to venture out again after last month’s lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.
And separate data from Barclaycard has found that spending on entertainment saw growth for the first time since the pandemic began, as consumers bought tickets to the theatre, cinema and sporting events.
Around one in four said they have also been dipping into savings to make the most of post-lockdown life, with pubs, bars and clubs seeing a strong month.
Barclaycard found consumer card spending grew 11.6% in July compared to the same period in 2019 including a 4.1% rise in fuel costs, the highest since before the pandemic due to rising oil prices and more people travelling on…
