"Feedback from supermarkets suggested that the sunny weather boosted sales across a range of products including food, alcohol, clothing and outdoor items"
- One ONS analyst
The primary gauge of consumer spending rose more than expected last month, as the heatwave pushed demand for food and alcohol, data from the ONS unveiled Thursday. The nation's retail sector, both including and excluding automotive fuel, jumped 1.1% in July, up from a 0.2% gain in June and outpacing analysts' predictions, who expected a 0.7% figure. On an annual basis prices soared 3%, the most since January 2011. The main contributor to growth were food shops, which showed the strongest rise in sales month-on-month, with an increase of 2.5%, while in contrast, sales in household goods tumbled 1.3% during the same period.
The median weekly spending online last month stood at 586.6 million pounds, which is 10.7% higher than in July 2012, indicating rising popularity of online-shopping. The amount consumers spend online accumulates around 9.5% of all retail spending excluding automotive fuel. The ONS also said that during the last five years, the volume of sales has increased by just 4%, with the majority of this growth coming from the latest six months. It reflects improvement in consumers' mood, as they are increasing spending, being confident about the economic outlook and their personal finances in particular.
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