August retail sales marginally up, clothing stores lead

New figures published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have shown that in August retail sales were marginally up on the month prior. Volumes rose by 1 percent during the month, which followed a more subtle rise of 0.7 percent in July.

The uptick was accredited to warmer weather and end-of-season sales, according to reports from supermarkets and clothing retailers.

It was textile clothing and footwear stores that had also seen the largest increase among all sectors, with sales volumes increasing by almost 3 percent. Department stores, meanwhile, saw a more marginal uptick, with volumes rising around 0.1 percent.

Throughout the month, sales were reported to be at their highest index levels since July 2022, ONS noted, while over the year to August 2024, sales volumes rose by 2.5 percent, reflecting the largest annual rise since February 2022.

On a more broad spectrum, sales volumes rose by 1.2 percent in the three months to August 2024, in comparison to the three months to May 2024.

‘Online spending values’, which references the amount spent online, remained flat over, yet rose 4.3 percent when compared to August 2023.