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UK retail sales declined in June, according to fresh statistics from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
UK retail sales were down by 0.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis, when sales had increased 1.4 per cent over the previous year, making it the lowest total growth recorded since May 2011.
However, non-food sales reported a growth in line with the 12-month average of 3.7 per cent over the last four months.
Online sales of non-food products in the UK grew 10.6 per cent in June year-on-year.
Helen Dickinson, director general at the BRC, said: "Consumers continue to benefit from competitive pricing, which may be the cause of softer like-for-like sales in June. For retailers, it’s a bit of a mixed picture, with food sales down and non-food sales up but at a slower rate than in June.”
David McCorquodale, head of retail, at KPMG, believes the reason for this slight decline is due to last year’s warmer weather and the baby boom of Prince George.
"Looking forward, retailers have two months of tough comparables coming up after Murray mania, a heatwave and the arrival of the royal baby boosted sales last year,” he said. “This past performance will make like for likes look challenging over the next quarter."
