FLAMING June boosted retailers as shoppers defied the costs crisis to stock up on outfits and BBQ food.
Sales volumes rose unexpectedly by 0.7 per cent in June, says the Office for National Statistics.
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The lift left economists asking if Brits are indulging in a last-hurrah summer splurge.
Danni Hewson, analyst at AJ Bell, said “There’s nothing quite like a long stretch of glorious weather to improve the public mood, and that’s what we got at the start of June.
“Our spending habits reflected this with fuel sales falling, and food sales up.”
Shoppers stocked up on barbecue treats, causing food sales to return to growth.
We returned to department stores for wedding outfits and wardrobe updates — and to homeware and DIY retailers for garden furniture.
Online sales continued to shrink — to just 24 per cent of the non-food market.
That is well below predictions that online would remain as high as 40 per cent after the dramatic switch during lockdowns.
Phil Monkhouse at financial services firm Ebury, said the strong retail sales showed the public were still confident about their finances.
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He said rate hikes “are yet to inflict the damage on household budgets as may have been expected”.
GAME BATTLE
THE competition watchdog has rejected claims it has been forced into reconsidering its veto of Microsoft’s £55billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard after other regulators approved the deal.
The CMA has said it will reconsider if Microsoft can find remedies for its concerns.
THG SELLS OFF
ECOMMERCE firm THG has sold two divisions that lost a combined total of £15million last year, as it focuses on reviving its performance.
The MyProtein health powder owner sold Zavvi, the music retailer to restructurers Gordon Brothers and offloaded its Probikekit to Mike Ashley’s Frasers GROUP.
