Responding to the latest ONS Retail Sales Index
figures, which showed sales up 3% by value,
and up 1.2% by volume, Dr Kris Hamer, Director of Insight at the
British Retail Consortium, said:
“August closed out a bright summer of retail sales on a high
note, with volumes up for the third month in a row. The prolonged
sunshine, bank holiday and interest rate cut all helped to boost
sales, especially for clothing and books. People are also
spending more on their homes, with furniture seeing a boost for
another month following a long period of decline.
“Even if this sales growth continues, it would not be nearly
enough to mitigate the mass of costs hammering the industry since
last year's Budget. Business confidence remains weak. Earlier
this summer, 56% of CFOs described their feelings about trading
conditions over the next 12 months as “pessimistic”. And, there
is little sign of improvement in the run up to Christmas,
especially with the Budget falling so close to Black Friday and
fears of potential further tax rises. Government can help improve
confidence by ensuring business rates reforms deliver a
meaningful reduction for retailers and that no shop pays more.
This will allow retailers to invest more in jobs and stores, and
most importantly, protecting customers from the increased costs
filtering down to them.”
-ENDS-
Notes:
According to the ONS, on a
Year-on-year seasonally adjusted basis:
- Sales by Value (amount spent)
increased 3.0% YoY
- Sales by Volume (quantity bought) increased
1.2% YoY
