High street endures woeful August as falling sales strike again

The British high street had its worst August for three years as year-on-year sales fell 2.7% before picking up last week, according to the BDO high street sales tracker.

It was the eleventh consecutive month of high street growth failing to top 1% and the seventh straight month of falls of in-store sales as inflationary pressures and a record heatwave continued to drive consumers away from the pavements and into the waiting arms of online retailers.

Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO, said: “With inflation continuing to bite on the weekly shop and the heatwave driving discretionary spending to bars and entertaining, there is even less disposable income heading to the high street.”

Online sales of all goods jumped 13.7% across the whole month.

Over the whole of August homeware was the sector’s worst performer, its sales falling 6.7% in its worst August performance since 2012, while fashion had its worst August on the high street since 2015.

"While spending on food and drink, entertainment and summer novelties such as barbeques and paddling pools may have continued to hold up in August, the reality for fashion and homeware retailers has been a distinct decline in footfall and in-store sales throughout the already notoriously quiet holiday season," said the report.

Conversely, like-for-like sales for the week ended 2 September were up 4.22% from a base of 2.77% in the same week last year, ending an eight-week negative run for in-store LFLs with an increase of 1.99% from a base of negative 1.09%.

Fashion was the strong performer over the week, with sales up by 5.24% against a base of 2.39%, while lifestyle and homeware also increased by 3.41% and 0.26% respectively.

The year has been punishing for many high street staples, with the likes of House of Fraser, Maplin and Toys R Us all filing for administration since the start of January.