£320m WARM WEATHER HIT

BRITISH retailers are bracing for a £320m hit as higher temperatures melt sales.

The British Retail Consortium said warmer weather in September could cost non-food retailers £ 80 million per week. Based on a Met Office analysis data, it argues that there is a clear relationship between temperature and retail sales.

Malcolm Lee, at the Met Office, said: ‘ For certain product lines at certain times of year, sales growth is strongly influenced by the weather.’