Good Weather Good For Sales

Retail sales rose 1.4% on a like-for-like basis and 3.2% in total in June according to the British Retail Consortium-Nielsen Retail Sales Monitor. The good weather is said to be a contributory factor in the increase in sales, particularly food sales and outdoor goods. This time last year it was wet and cold. The uncertainty about jobs may be putting shoppers off spending on bigger items which has seen sales fall off slightly. The weather has not put people off the Internet and other non-food non-store sales which were up 16.8% on last year. The gap between like-for-like and total sales performance is narrowing reflecting the reduction in new store openings in the current environment.