UK shoppers appear to shrug off Brexit vote

UK shoppers appear to have largely shrugged off the Brexit vote as retail sales suffered only a slight decline in August after a bumper July, figures from the UK's office for national statistics (ONS) suggest.

Retail sales volumes were down 0.2 per cent on July, which had seen a jump of 1.9 per cent in the strongest performance for the month in 14 years.

ONS head of retail sales Mel Richard said: “Despite a small fall after July’s sharp increase, the underlying pattern in the retail sector remains one of solid growth.

“There was some variation between different sectors but overall the figures do not suggest any major fall in post-referendum consumer confidence.”

Sales volumes in August were up 6.2 per cent on the same time last year.

The amount spent in the retail industry increased by 4.1 per cent compared with August last year and decreased by 0.5 per cent compared with last month.

The amount spent online increased by 18.5 per cent compared with this time last year and by 0.4 per cent compared with last month.

Average prices

Non-seasonally adjusted average store prices, including petrol stations, fell by 1.9 per cent on last year.

Ben Brettell, senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Retail sales held up well in August following a strong July – yet another piece of evidence which shows the economy has fared better than expected since June’s referendum.

“Furthermore, July’s figure was revised upwards to 1.9 per cent, marking the strongest July in 14 years. Sales fell just 0.2 per cent between July and August, a much smaller drop than the expected 0.5 per cent. Year-on-year growth came in at 6.2 per cent, again beating expectations of 5.3 per cent.

“The vote to leave the EU appears to have had little to no effect on consumers’ willingness to spend, and the underlying trend in UK retail sales remains one of robust growth.” – (PA)