Tills ring out as retailers record best quarter in over five years
RETAILERS saw a bumper quarter between July and September, as official statistics yesterday confirmed the best sales of any three-month period since 2008.
The quantity of sales in the sector rose by 1.5 per cent in comparison to the second quarter of the year, marking the second-best performance in nine years. The quantity of sales rose by 0.6 per cent between August and September alone, while the total amount spent rose by 0.5 per cent, despite the fact that average weekly earnings in the UK rose by only 0.4 per cent in the year to August.
Berenberg’s Robert Wood commented: “This looks, smells and is quacking like a consumer led recovery as tumbling mortgage rates and a sharply improving housing market get people out spending in the shops.”
Non-store retailing saw the biggest boost from consumer spending, with sales up by 19.1 per cent in the year to September.