UK retail sales continue to recover

UK retail sales continued their recovery in August but saw growth slow down, according to the Office for National Statistics ( ONS).

The ONS said volumes for the month were 4 per cent higher than in February, before the country was fully impacted by the pandemic.

However, this represented a 0.8 per cent increase on July’s figures, as it slowed from 3.6 per cent monthly growth. Analysts had forecast that retail sales would improve by 0.6 per cent month- on- month in August.

Online sales continued to be strong as shoppers chose to stay at home but dipped slightly against the previous month. Sales from online channels fell 2.5 per cent against July’s data but were still 46.8 per cent higher than pre- pandemic levels.

Spending on household goods was particularly strong in August, retailers reporting a 9.9 per cent jump in sales of homeware products compared to

February. Clothing sales have struggled to recover at the same pace and remain 15.9 per cent below pre- Covid levels.

The ONS also reported that 51.5 per cent of food retailers said they saw a decrease in footfall from 10 August to 23 August which it said could be linked to the reopening of other areas of the economy, such as restaurants and bars.

Large retailers also showed a slight dip in sales in July and August compared to the previous months, as more people ate out again.

Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician for economic statistics, said: “Retail sales continued to grow, further surpassing their pre- pandemic level.

“Sales of household goods thrived as the demand for home improvement continued and, despite a dip this month, online sales remained high. However, clothing stores continued to struggle with sales still well below their February level.”