High street suffers summer sales slump

Britons may be earning more but that is not translating into improved sales on the high street, where retailers are reporting the worst sales slump for six years.

A survey of 85 "medium-sized retailers" with a combined 10,000 outlets across the country revealed a 1.1 per cent fall in sales in July compared to 2014, according to the Daily Mirror. It found "all sectors have been hit by the sales downturn", with fashion down 1.4 per cent and homewares seeing a 1.1 per cent drop.

Sales have now fallen for three consecutive months for the first time since 2009, the Daily Telegraph notes, with the latest slide coming on the back of a two per cent decline in June. It also follows data last month showing a slight slowdown in growth in the service sector "in the latest sign that economic expansion has eased".

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BDO, the accountancy firm which produced the figures, pointed to uncertainty over a political landscape which is still "cooling" post-election and the effects on personal budgets of a rate rise in the wake of recent speculation.

The Guardian adds consumers are spending a windfall from stronger wage rises in pubs and restaurants, rather than shops, and points to changing shopping habits. Internet shopping is limiting browsing and "cutting down the opportunities for retailers to entice them".

It also cites evidence some brands are bucking the wider trend, such as Next which has said profits will rise this year after a strong July. Jamie Merriman, an analyst at Bernstein Research, told the paper those that "had a flexible supply chain and had made the right calls on trends and discount activity" were likely to have done well.