Retail sales surge as shoppers take to the high street post-Brexit

The news that the sterling has gained ground and soared back to its highest levels in two weeks shows how quickly a higher rate of inflation kicked in as a weaker pound caused imports to go up. For some retailers, the cost of importing clothing may rise by 6.5 percent, according to economists.

The good news is British shoppers took to the high street, ignoring the post-Brexit doom and gloom, sending retail sales soaring in the month of July.

Consumers stayed confident and with sterling rising in value against the dollar there is evidence of a major boost to the post-referendum economy.

Retail sales jumped 1.4 percent post Brexit

The numbers, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning showed retail sales jumped by 1.4 percent in July, well ahead of expectations for just a 0.1 per cent rise.

Compared to July 2015, sales volumes in UK outlets were up by 5.9 per cent, with weekly sales of clothing and accessories up 0.9 percent in July. Online sales accounted for 14.2 percent of all retail spending, compared to 12.6 percent in July 2015.

According to City AM, economists said the figures increased the UK's chances of avoiding a recession later this year, especially as it comes off the back of surprising good employment figures which hinted there had been no jump in unemployment since the Brexit vote.

Howard Archer of IHS Global stated: "July’s jump in UK retail sales is a major boost to third quarter growth prospects. and occurred despite survey evidence showing consumer sentiment slumping after the vote for Brexit".

Image: British_one_pound_coin_2015_obverse.png , Source: Wikemedia Commons