Retail sales volumes across the UK dipped in June, marking the second straight month of declines, despite the boost from the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend.
According to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), volumes edged down 0.1% month-on-month in June, which followed a 0.8% dip in May. The report noted that volumes in June were down 5.8% year-on-year but were 2.2% higher than those in February 2020 (before the lockdown).
Food store sales rose by 3.1% in volume terms, with supermarkets registering a 3.1% increase, specialist food stores seeing growth of 0.8%, and alcohol & tobacco stores generating a 3.5% hike.
However, this was offset by a 3.7% drop in volumes at non-store retailers and a 0.7% decline at non-food stores. Non-food sales were hurt by weakness in clothing (-4.7%) and household goods (-3.7%). Department stores saw volumes dip by 0.6%.
The ONS also noted that consumers are scaling back their online shopping, with online sales accounting for just 25.3% of total retail sales in June, the lowest level since March 2020. The decline continues a broad downward trend.
NAM Implications:
- Why wait for official statements of the obvious?
- Key that suppliers and retailers accept that inflation-impact is worse than the stats.
- Spend is down, focused on essentials.
- And that means food for many consumers…
