Warm weather boosts clothing sales and bakery trips in August

UK retailers enjoyed an uplift in sales in August as warm weather boosted clothing sales and drew shoppers into bakeries, new data shows.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the total volume of retail sales is estimated to have risen by 0.5% in August.

This is slightly higher than the 0.4% increase that some analysts had been expecting, and unchanged from the revised 0.5% jump in July.

Clothing and footwear sales rose by 1.3% in August, with many retailers saying good weather had drawn in more shoppers.

Second-hand retailers like auction houses and antiques dealers enjoyed an increase in spending during the  month.

Specialist food stores like butchers and bakers recovered from weaker sales in July with reports of more visitors to shops, the ONS found.

Online shops also helped drive the uplift in overall volumes in August with spending at non-store retailers – which also includes retailers like stalls and markets – rising by 0.7%.

However, retail sales declined by 0.1% over the three months to August, compared with the three months to May, according to the ONS’s estimates.

This was a slower rate of decline than the 0.6% drop seen over the previous three-month period.

Falling car fuel sales helped drag on the rate amid rising petrol and diesel prices.

Oliver Vernon-Harcourt, head of retail at Deloitte, said: “While the summer months have been positive for retail sales, all eyes are now on the Golden Quarter – the most important few months of the year for retailers.

“The change of the seasons in September should no doubt encourage consumers to purchase items for their winter wardrobes, but many businesses will be hoping that rain doesn’t deter shoppers from the high street.”

The Golden Quarter refers to the final three months of the year when retailers typically benefit from a surge in Christmas shopping.

Alice Cowley, managing director in Accenture’s retail practice, cautioned that “early demand from back-to-school and summer purchases” came against a backdrop of rising consumer caution and retailers being squeezed by higher costs.

She said: “Uncertainty ahead of the upcoming autumn Budget, rising employer national insurance contributions and ongoing energy and labour cost pressures, mean that even as top-line demand looks healthier than this time last year, margins are under greater strain heading into the Golden Quarter.”