UK retail sales volumes in early August were up significantly on the same month of last year, with clothing stores enjoying particularly strong trading, a survey has shown.
The survey, published by the Confederation of British Industry, also shows an increase in retailers’ workforce numbers.
However, retailers’ overall selling prices fell.
Rain Newton-Smith, CBI director of economics, said: “Retail growth is continuing at a steady pace and it’s really encouraging to see firms’ investment intentions picking up, alongside more jobs being created in the sector.
“However, the renewed fall in average selling prices illustrates the intense challenges facing some retailers – particularly grocers – where strong price competition to capture consumer value is still prevalent.”
Figures published by the Scottish Retail Consortium have signalled that year-on-year movements in the value of sales have been consistently weaker north of the Border than in the UK as a whole.
The SRC has cited greater economic and housing market strength in London and the south-east as a factor in this underperformance.
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