High street summer slump

August shop sales were one of the worst on record as “shoppers took a holiday from the high street”.

BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker showed that UK high street sales declined 2.7% year-on-year, the worst August decline for three years and one of the poorest performances in the Tracker’s 12-year history.

Fashion had its most difficult August since 2015 with store sales down every week.

Homewares also suffered with sales plunging 6.1%. Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale, said: “The high street hasn’t seen any notable growth since last October. There will be winners and losers as we enter the crucial last quarter.”

In a separate report the Recruitment and Employment Confederation said retail was the only sector to register lower temporary staff demand in August.

The IT and computing sector topped the list for staff shortages.