High streets suffer disappointing June amid ‘incredibly cautious’ spending

The high street suffered a disappointing June with consumers being “incredibly cautious” amid rising job losses and volatile geopolitics, latest figures show.

Sales rose by just 0.6% year on year while online sales saw a 4.3% increase as consumers adapted their shopping behaviour to the warm temperatures, according to the latest High Street Sales Tracker from accountancy and business advisory firm BDO.

The disappointing store figures reflected the high street’s continued struggle to attract shoppers, BDO said.

Fashion

This was particularly evident in the fashion sector, where online sales grew by 10% in June compared with a 0.2% decline on the high street.

It is the sixth consecutive month that in-store sales growth has been below the rate of inflation, which means that sales volumes are significantly down in the first half of this year.

Data from the CBI also suggests that this is the ninth consecutive month that overall sales volumes have fallen, reflecting the ongoing challenge the retail sector faces in attracting consumer spending.

Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO, said: “Consumer spending continues to be challenged, with little optimism for retailers.

“We know that consumers are being incredibly cautious when it comes to discretionary spend, given the significant noise around rising job losses and volatility in the geopolitical landscape.

“There is also a growing gap between the performance of physical stores and online retail.

“Perhaps this is because online retailers have greater agility to adjust their inventory and promotional material to quickly align to consumer preferences, such as promoting summer outfits in extreme high temperatures and pivoting to waterproofs when the rain arrives.”