Deloitte comments on today’s ONS retail stats

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

“The top line figures are strong for May, however, the competition for shoppers remains intense, as prices continue to fall.

“Clothing was the only sector where less was spent than in May 2015. Although May was milder, the stop-start nature of this year’s summer seems to have translated into indecision in terms of clothing purchases. An improvement in the weather could yet save the sector.

“The real winner however is online sales, showing a massive increase of 21.5% Online growth was strong across the board, with household goods stores seeing the highest growth rate as the sector continues to catch-up with other areas of the market.

“Looking ahead, it remains to be seen whether goodwill generated by a bumper summer of sport will trump any political uncertainty arising from next week’s referendum result.”

End

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