Sluggish retail sales growth peaks in June

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed that in June the underlying rate of growth in retail sales volumes was the highest so far this year.

However, the annual growth has remained the lowest for more than six years, according to data released today by the ONS.

The monthly figures showed that the total sales volume grew by 1.3% between May and June, the highest single month growth since December 2003. This follows zero growth last month and 0.5% in April. According to retailers the growth in June was driven by some department stores moving summer sales from July to June, a pick-up in sales of summer fashions and strong sales of sportswear. The total volume of sales in June was 1.6% higher than in June 2004.

For the three months to June the unadjusted value of retail sales was 0.4% higher than in the same period a year earlier, the lowest growth since comparable records began.

Average weekly sales in June were £4.7 billion, 1.4% higher than a year ago. The largest falls in sales values over the year were for household goods stores and department stores, with decreases of 4.0% and 1.7% respectively. Sales values for food stores increased by 3.8% over the year.

The volume of retail sales in the three months April to June 2005 was 0.7% higher than in the previous three months, the highest such growth since November 2004. This follows growth of 0.3% in the three months to May and compares with growth of 2.0% at the same time in 2004.

Three-monthly growth in sales volume for food stores was 0.2% compared with 0.8% for non-food stores. The non-store sector showed the highest three-monthly growth at 4.5%, the largest increase since July 2004.

Growth for clothing stores was 2.4%, the same as it was in May. Sales by household goods stores were flat over the period and sales by non-specialised stores showed a decrease of 2.3%, the largest fall since January 1991.

Compared with the same period a year ago, sales in the three months to June 2005 were up 1.6%, the lowest annual growth since February 1999. Over a three-month period, food stores fared best with a 2.5% growth, clothing stores at 3.5% and non-store retailing at 8.2%.

The annual growth for household goods stores was the lowest since January 1993, with a decrease of 0.1%.

(SP/GB)