European sales and competition boost UK retail sales | Al Khaleej Newspaper

Prepared by: Khansaa Al-Zubair
UK retail sales rebounded in July after summer sales and the European Football Championship boosted spending in department stores and sports stores.
The number of goods sold in stores and online rose 0.5% in July after a 0.9% decline in the previous month, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday.
Economists had expected a 0.6% rise, but the June decline was lower than the 1.2% previously reported.
Consumption rate
The figures signal a stronger start to the third quarter, after the level of spending in stores dampened broader economic output in June.
It may also be optimistic that the worst of the cost of living crisis is over, with inflation back close to the Bank of England’s 2% target and the pace of business hiring accelerating to its strongest pace since November.
Excluding fuel, retail sales rose 0.7%, which was stronger than the 0.6% rate economists had expected. Unseasonably cold weather affected the June numbers and uncertainty about the election campaign, which ended on the Fourth of July with a Labor victory.
The broader trend seems to be for more advanced retailers; Sales rose 1.1% in the three months to July compared to the quarter ended in April.
Online sales increased by 0.8% compared to the same period last year, and the percentage of online sales increased to 27.8% compared to 27.4% in the previous month.