High street sales rising

Sales volumes on the high street saw a year-on-year increase in August, according to the latest CBI quarterly Distributive Trades Survey. This is the second month running in sales volumes have risen.

Over half of retailers surveyed (53%) said that sales volumes rose during the first two weeks in August while only 18% said they fell. This was similar to the rate of sales growth seen in July.

Retailers also said that they expect sales to continue growing in September – and that they are more optimistic about the general business situation in the coming three months.

Clothing, grocery, household goods, footwear and leather, and hardware and DIY were the subsectors that saw the strongest growth.

Good weather at the beginning of August, summer sales and summer holidays were likely to have helped drive sales in these sector.
The August Distributive Trades Survey was conducted between 27 July and 11 August, and covered 133 companies.
The survey also revealed that inflation has accelerated for the third quarter running.

Lai Wah Co, CBI head of economic analysis, said: ““Better sales growth continued on the high street in early August, and retailers are upbeat about prospects in the coming three months. The summer sales, some warmer weather and the school holidays will no doubt have helped, lifting sales of clothing and shoes and encouraging households to invest in some home improvements.

“Retailers are hopeful that strong sales growth will continue next month. However, the broader outlook for consumer spending is still uncertain, given the VAT rise next year, subdued pay awards and the feed-through of public spending cuts to job losses.”