UK retail sales dipped only slightly in August following a bumper July in the latest sign that the Brexit vote has done little to dent consumers’ willingness to spend.
Sales fell by 0.2% last month, driven by lower sales of clothing, shoes, and household goods according to the Office for National Statistics. But it was a better-than-expected performance, with economists forecasting a 0.4% drop, partly because July was an unexpectedly strong month on the high street.
The ONS said July was even better than initially thought, revising up the monthly jump in sales to 1.9% from 1.4%. It was the best July for retail sales in 14 years.
Alan Clarke, economist at Scotiabank, said: “The takeaway point from this report is UK consumers are saying ‘so much for Brexit, the sun is shining’.”
Compared with a year earlier, sales volumes were 6.2% higher in August than in the same month last year, suggesting any uncertainty caused by Britain’s decision to leave the EU is having little impact on consumer confidence.
Mel Richard, a statistician at the ONS, said: “Despite a small fall after July’s sharp increase, the underlying pattern in the retail sector remains one of solid growth. Overall the figures do not suggest any major fall in post-referendum consumer confidence.”
The healthy picture painted by the official retail sales figures of the high street was not reflected by John Lewis and Next, which both reported a fall in profits.
Lord Wolfson, Next’s chief executive, said that strong sales at the retailer in July were driven by a bigger end-of-summer sale than the year before, adding that current trading was difficult. Profit fell 1.5% in the first half of the year.
George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown: “Hopes had been building for something of a summer recovery on the UK high street, but Next’s comments today have tempered that optimism a touch.”
