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The sixth wettest July on record dampened shop sales, data has revealed.<\/p>\n
Takings grew just 1.5% last month, according to trade body the British Retail Consortium and KPMG.<\/p>\n
That was down from a 2.3% increase a year ago and below the 3.5% average over the past three months.<\/p>\n
Downpours deterred shoppers from venturing out and dented demand for summer clothes.<\/p>\n
Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, said: \u201cAs the storm clouds came out, shoppers retreated.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sales number was also weak because inflation \u2013 driven by price rises as retailers claw back higher costs \u2013 has begun to ease.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, online non-food sales fell again \u2013 down 6.9% year-on-year \u2013 as the post Covid trend back to stores continued.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/strong> Top reasons to shop locally – including supporting local community<\/strong><\/p>\n Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: \u201cWhile consumer confidence is generally improving, it remains below longer term levels.\u201d<\/p>\n The wet weather also prompted spending on \u201cinsperiences\u201d \u2013 indoor experiences \u2013 according to separate data from Barclays. Spending on takeaways rose 9.2% and on digital content and subscriptions by 9.9%. Overall card spending rose 4% last month, said the bank.<\/p>\n It also credited Taylor Swift with helping to fuel a near 16% surge in outlay on entertainment last month. It came after tour tickets for the Bad Blood star, along with The Foo Fighters, went on sale.<\/p>\n Esme Harwood, director at Barclays, said: \u201cWhile July\u2019s weather was a wash-out for clothing retailers, it was a ray of sunshine for takeaways and streaming services, which performed better than expected.\u201d<\/p>\n Abbas Khan, an economist at Barclays, said the coming months were likely to see pressures on retailers from energy and some other costs ease. He added: \u201cHowever, offsetting this, more households are set to experience higher mortgage costs as they refix onto higher rates,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAccordingly, while we do not expect a consumer recession in the coming quarters, growth is likely to be meagre.\u201d<\/p>\n We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n