May's high sales called a blip
Jul 16 2008
Slower sales figures from June showed that the increased spending levels in May were a 'start-of-summer blip', according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
The BRC's Retail Sales Monitor reports that UK retail sales fell 0.4 per cent in June against the same month last year, meaning three of the past four months have seen reduced spending compared to their equivalent period in 2007.
The body accounts for high spending in May by saying it was based on hot weather, while June's more changeable conditions led to a decrease.
When compared with June 2007, food and drink was the only area to see significant growth and sales of footwear and clothing were sharply reduced.
The survey also finds homeware and furniture suffered from severe reductions.
In addition, consumer confidence is still low and housing market woes are causing many to cut back, the BRC says.
Director general of the BRC Stephen Robertson comments: 'The negative result confirms fears May's modest like-for-like sales growth was a start-of-summer blip.'
May experienced a 1.9 per cent rise in consumer spending when weighed against the same period in 2007.
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