Fastest fall since December for sales volumes

UK retail sales volumes fell in June at the fastest monthly pace since December, with the clothing and footwear, and food categories among those recording declines, official figures have shown.

Data published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics showed retail sales volumes fell by 0.9 per cent month-on-month in June.

This was steeper than the 0.6 per cent drop forecast by economists, and followed a 0.9 per cent rise during May.

Food sales volumes fell by 1.2 per cent during June and sales volumes in the textiles, clothing and footwear category dropped by 1.8 per cent, amid poor weather.

The non-specialised category, which takes in department stores, recorded a 1.6 per cent month-on-month decline in sales volumes.

Howard Archer, chief UK economist at consultancy IHS Global Insight, said: “Some correction in retail sales was always likely in June after they had seen very strong growth in May and April and there was also a significant falling back in clothing sales due to unhelpful weather. The (ONS) indicated that retailers had not given any evidence of the Brexit vote having a major dampening impact.

“While there is so far little evidence that consumer spending has been immediately hit hard by the Brexit vote, a plunge in consumer confidence reported by [pollster] GfK reinforces suspicion that consumers are likely to markedly rein in their spending over the coming months — particularly on big-ticket items. It is also highly likely that consumers will face deteriorating fundamentals over the coming months.”

Scottish Retail Consortium figures this week showed the value of retail sales north of the Border in June was down 1.4 per cent on the same month of 2015, in contrast to a 0.2 per cent year-on-year rise in the UK as a whole.