BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
RETAIL SALES
Cost-of-living crisis weighs on retail sales growth Accountancy and business advisory firm BDO says its latest High Street Sales Tracker confirms that the outlook for retailers “is of concern”.
H
igh levels of inflation and the deepening cost-of-living crisis have prompted further slowing of retail sales growth, new figures by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP reveal. BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker reveals total like-for-like sales, combined in-store and online, increased by +8.4% year-on-year in June. Total online like-for-like sales remained relatively flat at just +1.6% in June. While this is the online retail sector’s third consecutive positive result, it is a disappointing performance
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given it is based on low growth of +8.2% in June 2021. The figures show June started particularly slowly, as total like-for-like sales grew by just +4.65% in the first week of the month, which included the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday. Total like-for-like sales increased by +7.63% in the second week of June, and +7.30% in the third week, compared to the same week in 2021. The final week of the month saw the strongest like-for-like growth, with sales jumping by +18.61% above those recorded in 2021.
Sophie Michael, Head of Retail and Wholesale at BDO LLP, said: “These results confirm that the outlook for retailers is of concern. With consumer confidence at historically low levels, real wages falling to a 20-year low and interest rates set to rise further, there are few signs of encouragement for retailers.” She added: “Ultimately, retailers will be looking to the government to use the levers at its disposal to get inflation under control, ease the cost-of-living crisis and create the economic conditions where the retail sector can flourish.”
