BRC: August retail sales growth ‘best since January’

Retail sales in August grew 1.3% compared with August 2013 on a like-for-like basis, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). 

In the best performance since January, the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor showed total sales were up 2.7%, with growth largely driven by sales of clothing and footwear, which reported its fastest rate of growth since December 2011.

Non-food sales reported a growth of 3.9% over the three months to August 2014, while food was the worst performing category with a new record low after a three-month average decline.

Online sales of non-food products grew 19.8% in August versus a year earlier, the highest online growth on record.

Helen Dickinson, director general of the BRC, said: “August has recorded the strongest growth in retail sales since January this year, excluding Easter distortions, accelerating to 2.7%. This was driven in the main by the best growth of clothing and footwear since December 2011, indicating a higher level of consumer confidence in the economy.

David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, said: “With autumn drawing in, the countdown to Christmas has now begun.  This will be a true bellwether of consumer confidence. If shoppers feel secure enough in the future to spend, then retailers could be in for an enjoyable Christmas this year.”