BRC reports high street sales up in July
High Street sales reported a modest but surprising improvement in July, according to the latest report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Like-for-like sales were 0.6 per cent higher than in July 2010, when sales increased by 0.5 per cent. In total sales were up by 2.5 per cent in comparison to a 2.6 per cent increase last year.
Most non-food sectors saw very little growth and where growth was apparent, this was due in the most part to clearance sales.
Food sales growth showed an improvement on June and sales of clothing and footwear were helped by many stores selling at discount in summer sales. Consumers continue to avoid buying big-ticket household items.
Stephen Robertson, Director General of The British Retail Consortium, said: "This is a modest improvement on recent months but overall conditions remain very difficult for retailers. When you take into consideration inflation and January's increase in VAT, 2.5 per cent growth effectively means people are buying fewer goods.
Online sales were once again up, reporting a 9.6 per cent increase than a year ago, although this rate of growth has slowed since last year and since June.
Howard Archer, Chief UK & European Economist for IHS Global said: “While showing improvement compared to June, the BRC figures nevertheless point to underlying sluggish retail sales in July and a reluctant consumer. Discounting and promotions clearly played a major role in lifting sales in July.”
Confirming the reluctance of consumers to spend and the care they are taking in what they are spending, Joanne Denney-Finch, Chief Executive, IGD, said: “Our latest ShopperTrack research reveals 51% of people say they are checking the price of every single item they put in their shopping basket. A similar number of shoppers are comparing prices between products and between stores.”
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