Retail sales jumped 6.4% in July 2021, against a growth of 3.2% in July 2020, according to new figures from the British Retail Consortium. This is below the three-month average growth of 14.7% and the 12-month average growth of 10.4%.
On a two-year basis, total retail sales grew by 9.1%
Helen Dickinson OBE, 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.
“Online sales remained strong, and with weddings and other social events back on for the summer calendar, formalwear and beauty all began to see notable improvement, so fashion outlets in particular saw a bounce back to pre-pandemic levels.
“As many people prepare to return to the workplace, purchase of home office equipment began to fall after months of high sales, meanwhile other homeware, such as furniture and household appliances continued to do well.”
That said, Ms Dickinson said the vacancy rate is continuing to rise.
“Many shops and local communities have been battered by the pandemic, with many high streets in need of further investment,” she said. “Unfortunately, the current broken business rates system continues to hold back retailers, hindering vital investment into retail innovation and the blended physical-digital retail offering.
“The Government must ensure the upcoming business rates review permanently reduces the cost burden to sustainable levels. Retailers want to play their part in building back a better future for local communities, and Government must give them the tools to do so.”
Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, said that retail sales continued to grow in July, although at a slower rate as the reopening of the hospitality and leisure sectors led to a dilution in consumer spending.
He added: “Whilst the high street saw continued growth in July, with sales up 6%, unsurprisingly online sales fell back – although less than expected – by -0.4% compared to July 2020.
“Many non-food categories had a less strong performance, especially those related with the home after the house moving frenzy of recent months started to abate.
“Over the coming months the health of the sector is expected to grow at a much slower rate as retailers face increasing challenges on a number of fronts. 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.”
