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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
-
Savages: a tragi-comedy set in a 'quirky handcrafted world'The Week Recommends This new animated film by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Claude Barras is undeniably political, but it has a hopeful message
-
Why 'faceless bots' are interviewing job huntersIn The Spotlight Artificial intelligence is taking over a crucial part of recruitment
-
Who will win the battle for the soul of the Green Party?An ideological divide is taking root among the environmentalists
-
Labour shortages: the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy right nowSpeed Read Britain is currently in the grip of an ‘employment crisis’
-
Will the energy war hurt Europe more than Russia?Speed Read European Commission proposes a total ban on Russian oil
-
Will Elon Musk manage to take over Twitter?Speed Read The world’s richest man has launched a hostile takeover bid worth $43bn
-
Shoppers urged not to buy into dodgy Black Friday dealsSpeed Read Consumer watchdog says better prices can be had on most of the so-called bargain offers
-
Ryanair: readying for departure from LondonSpeed Read Plans to delist Ryanair from the London Stock Exchange could spell ‘another blow’ to the ‘dwindling’ London market
-
Out of fashion: Asos ‘curse’ has struck againSpeed Read Share price tumbles following the departure of CEO Nick Beighton
-
Universal Music’s blockbuster listing: don’t stop me now…Speed Read Investors are betting heavily that the ‘boom in music streaming’, which has transformed Universal’s fortunes, ‘still has a long way to go’
-
EasyJet/Wizz: battle for air supremacySpeed Read ‘Wizz’s cheeky takeover bid will have come as a blow to the corporate ego’
