Brief sunny spell for retailers
SUNNY weather and summer clearance sales gave retail sales a much-needed boost last month, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) will say today in its monthly survey.
Retail sales values rose 1.2 per cent on a like-for-like basis on June 2009 while total retail sales values were up 3.4 per cent. However, in the three months to June, like-for-like sales were flat on the same period in 2009. Food sales values inched up by 0.1 per cent while non-food items were flat.
Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC, said: “The performance is better when you remember the comparison is with a similarly strong performance in a sunny June a year ago.”
The BRC said that food sales growth was about the same as in May, thanks to the hot weather and the World Cup. But clothing and footwear sales growth slowed, since many people had already bought in May’s sun. Televisions benefited from the football and outdoor DIY and leisure also improved, but at the expense of indoor homewares.
Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG, said: “Trundling along is an apt description for this month’s sales. While the World Cup did impact performance on individual days and provide a welcome uplift for some, it did not shift overall spending patterns much one way or the other.”
She added: “It was a bit of a temporary lift and I don’t think the outlook is particularly positive.”
Dickinson said that retailers will be trying very hard to absorb the VAT hike but that they had already worked to make a lot of changes. “Most are suggesting that they won’t have any choice but they will benefit from spending being brought forward into the end of 2010.