High street like-for-like sales extend growth streak to five weeks

UK high street retailers recorded their fifth consecutive week of like-for-like sales growth, according to data from the latest High Street Sales Tracker published by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO. Total like-for-like (LFL), sales grew by 1.75 percent for the week ending July 19, 2026, compared to a positive base of 2.30 percent during the same week in 2025.

The performance was supported by high temperatures across England and Wales during the third heatwave of the summer season. Footfall data from retail intelligence firm Springboard indicated an overall increase of 1.1 percent, led by high street footfall at 2 percent and retail parks at 0.7 percent, whereas shopping centre footfall decreased by 0.5 percent.

Store sales outperform as heatwave drives footfall

Physical brick and mortar locations served as the main operational engine during the week. Total store LFL sales grew by 3.36 percent, marking three consecutive weeks of positive store performance, compared to 1.70 percent in the prior year period.

Conversely, total non-store LFL sales grew at a more modest rate of 1.52 percent, compared to 6.53 percent for the equivalent period in 2025. Although non-store digital channels have registered five consecutive weeks of growth, the rate of expansion has moderated each week.

Fashion and lifestyle sectors post positive results while homewares decline

Category performance within discretionary retail showed clear divergence, with fashion and lifestyle capitalizing on seasonal consumer demand. Total fashion LFL sales expanded by 3.31 percent, compared to 1.68 percent in the previous year, marking five consecutive weeks of positive performance for the category. Store fashion sales performed strongly, surging by 8.24 percent against a base of 1.36 percent. However, non-store fashion sales fell by 2.23 percent, down from a positive 7.16 percent in 2025.

Total lifestyle LFL sales rose by 3.09 percent, recovering from a negative base of 0.83 percent in the previous year. Non-store lifestyle sales grew by 3.50 percent, compared to 1.27 percent last year, while store lifestyle sales saw a slight increase of 0.11 percent.

Total homewares LFL sales dropped by 12.90 percent, compared to an adjusted positive base of 18.70 percent in the corresponding week of 2025. In-store homewares sales decreased by 13 percent, while non-store homewares sales fell by 11.45 percent.

The BDO High Street Sales Tracker monitors weekly LFL sales metrics across approximately 80 mid-tier UK retailers representing around 10,000 individual retail doors