Commenting on the Office of National Statistics retail sales index for August 2024, Lisa Hooker, PwC UK Leader of Industry for Consumer Markets:
"August’s retail sales continued the improving trend we saw last month, helped by the arrival of warm weather at the end of July. Overall retail sales, excluding petrol, grew by 2.4% in pound note terms compared with last August - the same growth rate as July. However, sales volumes increased faster, suggesting that seasonal discounting helped encourage shoppers to spend."
"As expected, the warmer weather helped grocery sales as consumers celebrated at home and in the garden, while there was some recovery in fashion thanks to end-of-season sales and trips away. Nonetheless, in volume terms, fashion retail declined by -0.3% compared with last August - now the twelfth consecutive month of volume declines, not helped by the run of unseasonal weather we’ve seen over the 12 months."
"The warmer weather also helped the high street, notwithstanding the slightly lower footfall over the month. The proportion of retail sales online fell back slightly from the recent peak of 27.8% seen in July to 27.6% in August."
"While August’s performance heralded the end of the best quarter of retail sales growth since the start of 2022, is it too little too late? Overall sales remain below pre-pandemic levels in volume terms, with household goods retailers particularly lagging behind. And our latest research saw an increase in chain store closures in the first half of the year."
"Although consumer sentiment improved directly after the General Election, shoppers are still being cautious and planning spending cutbacks in the short term. Held interest rates and the promise of a less-than-generous Budget announcement at the end of October will have both shoppers and retailers holding their breath. So, while we’re cautiously optimistic that Christmas trading will be better this year than last, actual trading performance is likely to come right down to the wire."
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