UK high street sales fall for fifth consecutive month - BDO

UK high street sales fell again in June to mark the fifth consecutive month of in-store declines as retailers axe job losses and close stores, according to research published on Friday.

According to the monthly retail sales tracker from accountant BDO, shop sales fell 1.7% year-on-year in June.

This puts the UK high street on its way to the worst year in over a decade as in-store growth failed to exceed 1% in over nine months.

According to BDO, the fall in sales affected all three sectors with lifestyle goods reporting a negative like-for-like growth of -0.3% from a solid base of +1.2% the same month last year, fashion -2.3% (from +1.4% in 2017) and homewares -2.4% (from +1.4% in 2017).

World Cup fever helped boost pub spending, television sales and food and drink consumption in June but it is not enough to save the high street from its challenging situation.

June started with falls in in-store sales plunging 6.47% in its first week, BDO found, partially due to the torrential rain and localised flooding in parts of the UK that hurt footfall and sales. Sales picked up slightly in its second week by 2.65% and 1.74% in the third amid better weather, but the month ended with a bump as sales fell by 5.38% in the last week.

Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO, said: “The bleak and crippling start to the year shows no sign of abating, with deep discounting set to eat into margins that are already being stretched paper-thin by poor sales and rising costs, including the much-discussed issue of unfair business rates on high street retailers.

“These numbers confirm what many retailers have already suspected – this has been the worst first half of a calendar year for more than a decade,” she explained.

She also added that it would take a “monumental change in fortunes” on the high street for 2018 not to be a complete disaster.

The retail sector has been under pressure since the start of the year due to higher costs and low consumer confidence. Many firms have had to lay off staff and close stores with companies such as Toys R Us and Maplin already filing for administration this year and others including Carpetright, Mothercare, New Look and House of Fraser carrying out company voluntary arrangements.