Retail sales had been expected to fall in June, partly given poor weather, the run-up to the General Election and the focus on the Euro 2024 football championships in Germany, but the drop was much sharper than predicted.

Data published today by the Office for National Statistics revealed a 1.2% month-on-month plunge in retail sales volumes in Great Britain in June on a seasonally adjusted basis, with economists polled by Reuters having overall forecast a 0.4% decline. And the fall was broadly based across retail sub-sectors.

The figures would appear to highlight the ongoing financial pressure on consumers, who have been hit hard by the UK’s cost of living crisis and continue to face the permanent effects of this.

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Excluding automotive fuel, the month-on-month drop in retail sales volumes in June was 1.5%.

Retail sales volumes had risen by 2.9% month-on-month in May. However, last month’s tumble meant they were down 0.1% quarter-on-quarter over the three months to June.

Lisa Hooker, leader of industry for consumer markets at accountancy firm PwC UK, said: ““Following May’s partial recovery, retail sales fell in June across every category of retailer, with the unseasonably cool weather putting a chill on high street activity. Headline sales volumes excluding petrol fell by 1.5% compared with the previous month, and fell by 0.8% compared with last June."

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She highlighted weakness in supermarket and clothing sales.

Ms Hooker said: "The biggest volume declines included supermarkets, which sold 3.1% fewer items than last June, and fashion retailers, where volumes fell by 4.5%. In fact, clothing volumes have now fallen every month since last autumn, which explains some of the heavy discounting and earlier sales that shoppers are now enjoying, as retailers rush to clear seasonal stock."

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She noted that “online was about the only winner, increasing sales compared to last June”.

Ms Hooker added: “Despite falling inflation, wage increases, benefit increases and lower national insurance rates, it appears that the cooler, wetter weather over spring and early summer, combined with longer-term uncertainty in the period prior to the General Election, has discouraged shoppers from both buying seasonal goods and making longer-term, big-ticket purchases.”

The EY ITEM Club think-tank saw signs of an improvement in retail sales over the first half of this year, in spite of the “disappointing” second-quarter decline.

It said: “A poor June capped off a disappointing quarter for UK retail sales, which were down 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in Q2. But the data has been extremely noisy in recent months, even by the standards of retail sales, and the softer Q2 followed a much stronger Q1. Indeed, the underlying trend appears to be one of gradual improvement.”

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at stockbroker AJ Bell, said: “The public had plenty of distractions in June, namely the [July 4] General Election, miserable weather, the Euro football championship and high interest rates continuing to put pressure on household finances. It’s no wonder that retail sales were poor in the month.

“The retail industry has had one of the most challenging years in living memory thanks to unfavourable weather conditions and the ongoing cost of living crisis. The pace of inflation might be easing but the cost of goods is still going up.”

He added: “Decent wage growth has been welcome, but the general backdrop has kept retailers on their toes, desperate for ways to keep the tills ringing without resorting to bargain-basement prices that leave them with little to no profit.”