Deloitte comments on today's ONS retail sales figures

Commenting on today’s ONS retail sales figures, Ian Geddes, UK head of retail at Deloitte, said:

“Inconsistent weather towards the end of summer may well have dampened the performance of the UK retail industry, with month-on-month results (-0.3%) down in value terms. However, year-on-year values did increase by +0.2%. With today’s data only including retail sales up to 29th August, we would expect September’s figures to show a bumper growth with the additional bank holiday weekend included.

“Higher wages and improved consumer confidence has continued to lead to an increase in sales year on year. However, this could be a double-edged sword for retailers: as customers’ spending power grows, so too will retailers’ costs. We believe this will lead to retailers placing an even greater focus on productivity, particularly with the introduction of the living wage looming.

“Online sales didn’t escape the impact of the missing bank holiday weekend, with sales growth slowing to 7.4%; however, we still expect to see another record Black Friday, after sales last year of over £800 million. Now an established part of the UK retail calendar, consumers will be expecting retailers to ramp up their online and mobile marketing campaigns in the coming months. If successful, UK Black Friday spending could surpass £1 billion for the first time, predominantly driven by purchases made using mobile devices.”

End

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