Discretionary spending hit hard as consumers retreat
July 12, 2022
The cost-of-living crisis is hitting consumer confidence hard for non-essential home purchases says the latest data from the British Retail Consortium.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickenson said: "“Sales volumes are falling to a rate not seen since the depths of the pandemic as inflation continues to bite and households cut back spending.
“Discretionary purchases were hit hard, especially white goods and homeware, while consumers also traded down to cheaper brands in food and non-food alike. Retailers are caught between significant rising costs in their supply chains and protecting their customers from price rises," she said.
Non-food retail sales for June fell 4.2% on a like-for-like basis over a three-month period last year. Overall retail activity shrank by 1.3%.
Sunny weather is impacting retail footfall with non-food stores seeing a 20% decline in the week to July 10, compared to the same week in 2019.
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