UK Retail Sales Report summary
July 2021
Period covered: Period covered: July
Note: This report summary is one or two months behind the current month as standard reporting practice. The content is indicative only and incomplete with certain data undisclosed. Subscribe to access this data or take out a free 30 day subscription trial now.
Retail sales rose by 00% in June YoY according to the Retail Economics Retail Sales Index (value, non-seasonally adjusted, exc. Fuel); and rose by 11.5% against 2019 levels.
Food sales fell by 00% in June as the reopening of hospitality encouraged consumers to shift more of their food spending towards restaurants and bars compared with the previous year when much of the industry remained in lockdown.
Home related products remained popular as consumers continued to divert the boost in savings towards home improvements. Homewares 00% y/y rose strongly on the previous year, along with DIY & Gardening 00% y/y, and Furniture & Flooring 00% y/y.
A recent survey from Checkatrade revealed the most common purposes for home renovations over the lockdown period were for shed offices, home cinemas and snugs.
Looking forward, footfall is likely to continue to remain under pressure, particularly in city centre locations.
Data from our Shopper Sentiment Survey revealed that 00 in 10 consumers will remain ‘uncomfortable’ when shopping in a store as restrictions are fully removed (19 July).
Rising inflation is a key concern in context of the erosion of spending power against a backdrop of the Government unwinding supportive measures such as the furlough scheme.
The ONS retail sales index reported a rise in sales of 9.3% in June (value and non-seasonally adjusted – exc. Fuel). Compared with 2019 levels, sales rose by 11.1%.
Expectations about the future strength of consumer spending has softened in recent months.
As tough comparisons are annualised, online food growth fell markedly. Online food sales fell by 8.9%, down from 130.3% growth in the previous year.
Overall, average weekly online sales fell to £2.15 billion in June this year.
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Overall consumer spending fell in each week throughout the June trading period
Source: Source: Bank of England
