Retail sales show biggest year-on-year increase since the beginning of 2014
UK retail sales have shown their strongest underlying year-on-year increase since January 2014 in the latest month.
Figures published today by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show that the value of sales in June was up by 2.9 per cent on the same month of last year. This sharp increase was partly the result of a weak performance by the UK retail sector in June 2014.
Warm weather provided a fillip to clothing sales late in the June 2015 trading period, which ran from May 31 to July 4. The BRC also saw signs that clothing sales had been boosted by retailers bringing forward summer sales.
The sunshine also helped do-it- yourself and gardening retailers. The BRC also cited strong sales of paddling pools and trampolines in the week ending July 4.
Furniture sales were strong in the June trading period.
The BRC said that food sales value had shown a year-on-year rise for a seventh consecutive month, excluding distortions related to the timing of Easter.
And it noted that, stripping out Easter-related distortions, the 2.9 per cent year-on-year rise in total UK retail sales value in the June trading period was the sharpest since January 2014.
The BRC noted that this increase was also ahead of the 12-month average of 1.6 per cent for year-on-year growth in sales value.
In May, UK retail sales value had been up by 1.1 per cent on the same month of last year.
The Scottish Retail Consortium is due to publish June sales figures for Scotland next week. In recent times, year-on-year movements in sales value have been consistently weaker in Scotland than in the UK as a whole.
Helen Dickinson, director general of the BRC, said: “Fashion sales were up, but this was likely helped by several retailers entering summer sales a little earlier this year.”
Edinburgh-based David McCorquodale, head of accountancy firm and BRC survey sponsor KPMG’s UK retail sector practice, said: “The grocers continued to fight to make headway against a deflationary tide.”