Department and sports equipment stores saw sales rise amid the season’s fixtures, with household and non-food stores also seeing lifted retail sales volumes (quantity bought).
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), retail sales volumes rose 1.1% in the three months to July when compared to the previous quarter to April.
And, they rose 1.4% in the year to July 2024, after poor weather impacted sales in July 2023.
However, the ONS noted that when compared with their pre-Covid-19 pandemic level in February 2020, volumes were down 0.8%.
It also revealed that automotive fuel sales volumes fell by 1.9% during July 2024, following an increase of 2.2% in June 2024. This was despite the fact that the average price of petrol fell by 1.4 pence per litre (ppl) between June and July 2024, to stand at 144.4ppl. Diesel prices fell by 1.1p in July 2024 to stand at 150.4p.
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The amount spent online rose by 2.5% during July 2024, and by 3.6%, compared with July 2023.
Total spend – the sum of in-store and online sales – rose by a more moderate 0.7% over the month. However, the proportion of sales made online increased from 27.4% in June to 27.8% in July 2024.
Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone, said the figures for the time of year are “unsurprising”, with increased retail sales “likely a direct consequence of the typical summer discounting, as well as the Euro 2024 tournament, and other seasonal sporting events”.
Brown said: “While the release is unlikely to materially alter the Bank of England’s policy outlook, with the next bank rate cut not likely until November, given the gradual approach policymakers favour in terms of normalising policy, continued direction of travel towards lower interest rates should help to underpin consumer sentiment, and spending, in the quarters ahead.
“Downside risks, however, do remain, particularly as the labour market looks set to soften further, and with fiscal policy set to tighten significantly after the end-October Budget.”
Alex Kerr, UK economist at Capital Economics, said as lower inflation continues to support real incomes and bolsters consumer confidence, “we expect retail sales to continue to strengthen”.
Kerr said: “We continue to think that rising real incomes, as inflation falls, should mean consumer spending growth accelerates over the rest of this year.”
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