UK retail gains in August as clothing boost lifts high street, but three-month volumes stay lower

Britons shopped for clothes and other essentials, helping the high street as official data show retail sales volumes rose 0.5% in August from July, the Office for National Statistics said. The gain followed a difficult spring and was aided by sunny weather, a bank holiday weekend and a cut in interest rates, which analysts credited with encouraging spending. The month also marked the third consecutive monthly gain in retail sales.

Clothing stores, butchers and bakers, and online retailers were among the stronger performers in August, the ONS noted. Senior Statistician Hannah Finselbach said: "Retail sales fell slightly across the latest three months though at a slower rate of decline than seen last month." She added: "This was mainly due to a poor period for non-food stores, such as antiques dealers and auction houses as well as tech stores, with fuel sales also falling. These were only partially offset by increases from online and clothing shops." Looking at the monthly picture, she said, "Retail sales increased in August with feedback suggesting the good weather helped boost sales of clothing."

Dr Kris Hamer, Director of Insight at the British Retail Consortium, said: "August closed out a bright summer of retail sales on a high note, with volumes up for the third month in a row. The prolonged sunshine, bank holiday and interest rate cut all helped to boost sales, especially for clothing and books." He added: "People are also spending more on their homes, with furniture seeing a boost for another month following a long period of decline."

He cautioned, however, that even if this sales growth continues, it would not be nearly enough to mitigate the mass of costs hammering the industry since last year’s Budget. The overall picture remains challenging for retailers, with consumer cost pressures continuing to weigh on spending and investment across categories beyond clothing.

In context, the August uptick provides a short-term lift for the sector, but analysts say it does not erase the longer-running headwinds from inflation, interest rates, and the broader cost-of-living squeeze. While some categories showed resilience, the three-month pace of decline from the previous period still highlights the fragility of the recovery and the uneven nature of demand across retail sub-sectors. As retailers monitor shopper sentiment and input costs, analysts expect volatility to persist through the autumn as households adjust to evolving price pressures and budgeting constraints.