August 2018 UK Retail Sales: Further Strong Volume Growth

Executive Summary

Coresight Research’s monthly reports keep you up to date on US and UK retail sales, US retail traffic and in-store metrics, selected US retailers’ same-store sales and key global consumer indicators. Click here to view our full collection of Monthly Reports.

Our monthly UK Retail Sales Report reviews the latest sector data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Highlights from our August UK Retail Sales Report:

• The UK retail sector enjoyed further solid volume growth in August, with sales up 3.5% year over year in real terms. This compared to 4.0% real-terms growth in July.
• In value terms, sales climbed 4.9%, with strong performances reported for DIY retailers, and health and beauty stores. Grocery stores saw a sequential softening of growth while large clothing retailers eked out a further modest year-over-year increase.
• The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that total shop-price inflation increased to 1.3% in August, from 1.1% in July, with both food and nonfood retailers fuelling this uplift.