Retail sales decreased by 0.9% in June, but increased by 0.5% in July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Nonetheless, it fell rather short of expectations, as most economists had projected a 0.7% rise for the month.
According to the ONS, the increase was caused by sales at department stores and sports equipment retailers that were boosted by the Euros football competition.
High street stores said that during England’s run to the Euro final, sales of alcoholic drinks, football shirts, and electronics like TVs were all higher.
Low foot traffic, bad weather, and election uncertainty were blamed for the June purchase decline. That was revised up from 1.2% to 0.9%, thus it was less steep than initially estimated.
Due to the late July temperature spike, clothing sales decreased for the eleventh consecutive month.
However, internet sales increased to account for 27.8% of total sales, the greatest percentage since February 2022, the month of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Homeware stores had a 0.6% decline in sales, while apparel and shoe stores saw a 0.6% decline.
In contrast, food stores reported monthly sales that remained unchanged.
