Retail sales beat expectations as shoppers continue spending spree
Retail sales volumes beat expectations and rose 0.3 per cent in August as British shoppers continued to spend.
The Office for National Statistics data showed sales jumped 3.3 per cent on August last year.
There were increases across all sectors except food, clothing and petrol.
Read more: Retail industry fears 'tipping point' amid looming business rate bill
Online spending reached a record 18.2 per cent of all retailing, while department stores hit a record proportion of 18.4 per cent of all online retailing.
Sales for the three months to August were also up 3.4 per cent on the same period in 2017.
ONS head of retail sales, Rhian Murphy, said: “Retail sales remained strong in the three months to August, with continued growth across all sectors.
“Food and household goods stores particularly benefitted from the warm weather when compared with last summer.”
He added: “The figures for the month of August were a little more mixed, with food sales falling after strong sales earlier in the summer and clothing sales declining following a strong July, as suggested by clothing retailers.
“On the other hand, household goods grew strongly.”
Food sales dropped by 0.6 per cent compared with July, while clothing fell by 1.9 per cent.
Overall sales were boosted by household goods – up 4.5 per cent – and non-food stores enjoyed a 2.8 per cent rise.
Read more: Heatwave hit retail footfall figures in August
Head of retail insight at the British Retail Consortium, Rachel Lund, said the weather had “played havoc” with sales so far this year and predicted a tricky Christmas period.
She said: “With inflation picking up and wage growth still modest, sales are likely to come down from recent highs, that could make the upcoming festive season nail-biting for many retailers.”