Retail sales in Britain fell more than expected last month, as bad weather and an increase in the cost of living hit household consumption in the country.
The National Bureau of Statistics stated that the volume of retail sales fell last month by a monthly rate of 1.2% after an increase of 0.6% in June. It is noteworthy that this is the first decline in retail sales in Britain in 4 months, and sales were expected to decline 0.5%.
Similarly, retail sales, excluding motor fuels, declined 1.4% in July after increasing 0.7% in June. Economists had expected sales to decline by only 0.7%.
Sales of food commodities stores declined by 2.6%, in light of the continued impact of the increase in the cost of living on sales volume. Sales of non-food items decreased in July by 1.7%, compared to a decline of 0.6% in the previous month.
The data revealed that consumers tended to shop online due to bad weather and an increase in offers on shopping websites. Online sales accounted for 27.4% of total sales, the largest share of e-commerce since February 2022.
2023-08-18 22:02:56
#Retail #sales #Britain #declined #July
