Online sales up in July
Retail sales in July 2014 were 0.3% lower than July 2013 but total sales grew by 1.3% in the last year, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Furniture sales recorded their highest growth since the start of 2014 but food sales over the last 3 months saw their biggest decline since BRC records began in December 2008.
Online sales in the 3 months to July were at their highest in 2014, and online sales of non-food items were 14.9% higher in July than they were in the same month a year earlier. For non-food items, 1 in every 6 pounds spent is now spent online.
Helen Dickinson, the BRC’s director general, said:
“… July last year [2013] was a tough month to beat because consumers had really responded well to high profile exciting sporting events and of course, the birth of the royal baby. Food experienced its deepest three-month average decline since at least December 2008, explained partly by the continuing keen price competition between supermarkets, which consumers are taking full advantage of, and record low food inflation.”
Commenting on the impressive online sales growth, Dickinson said retailer collaboration was having a positive effect:
“Established websites are capitalising on their client base by partnering with other retailers, therefore becoming a favourite destination for a larger range of products.”
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