Post date: Aug 2, 2013 7:07:10 PM

Heatwave pushes UK retail sales to July high

Clothing and footwear purchases rise at fastest pace as consumers replace cold weather gear with summer outfits

• Angela Monaghan and Sarah Butler

• The Guardian, Monday 29 July 2013 20.40 BST

A man purchases an ice cream during the heatwave in central London. Photograph: Felix Clay

The balmy summer weather helped to give the high street a boost as customers enjoyed shopping away from air-conditioned shopping centres for barbecue and summer essentials, with UK retail sales reaching a six-month high in July.

As consumers rushed to replace their winter gear with items more appropriate for a heatwave, clothing and footwear sales rose at the fastest pace – according to a survey of 60 major retailers by the business group the CBI – in what is likely to be seen as a positive indicator for an apparently recovering economy.

Richard Lowe, head of retail and wholesale at Barclays, said: "The UK's first heatwave in seven years boosted high-street sales as consumers stocked up on flip-flops and sunscreen. Even more reluctant shoppers were encouraged by sales and promotions."

The survey also found that department stores – which include general retailers such as Marks & Spencer as well as traditional outlets such as John Lewis – had enjoyed their strongest surge in sales for 30 years.

The figure is at odds with John Lewis's own figures, reported on Friday, which revealed declining sales during the hot weather as shoppers have been less keen on buying homewares and have preferred parks and gardens to shopping centres. The chain also blamed the sporting success of Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and England's cricketers in the Ashes series for keeping shoppers away.

Andy Street, managing director, described July trading as "challenging" last week, when the company revealed a 1.2% drop in sales in the week to 20 July.

The retailers surveyed by the CBI were more upbeat, with 43% saying sales were higher in July compared with a year earlier, while 26% said they were lower. The resulting balance of +17% was the highest since January, and the first rise in five months.

The balance of department stores reporting a rise in sales was +98%, the highest since the survey began in 1983.

The figures suggest that clothing retailers, which had mostly started their end-of-season sales when the warm weather hit, have been able to offer smaller discounts to clear their stock than during last year's miserable summer.

Supermarkets have also been enjoying strong trading as the nation stocks up on barbecue essentials, fruit, salad and suncream. John Lewis's sister company, Waitrose, for example, saw sales jump 11.8% earlier this month, boosted by demand for barbecue and picnic food and accessories.

The good news caused by the longest period of warm weather since 2006 was not widespread, however, with the CBI's distributive trades survey showing that sales of furniture and carpets and some specialist food and drinks categories fell in July. Although sales volumes were ahead of January, they remain below average for the time of year.

"The feelgood factor from the heatwave and early summer sales has helped boost high street sales, after a very weak start to the year, said Stephen Gifford, the CBI's director of economics.

"A return to even modest spending is welcome news, but the bottom line is that confidence will not bounce back fully until family finances improve significantly."

Gifford played down suggestions that the birth of Prince George of Cambridge would have a positive impact on sales, but said continued warm weather and price discounting were likely to drive retail growth in August.

Of those retailers surveyed, 39% expected sales to rise next month compared with a year earlier, while 29% predicted a fall.

The positive retail sales figures have fuelled expectations that the economy got off to a reasonable start in the third quarter, after official figures last week showed gross domestic product increased by 0.6% between April and June.