BRC: Retailers ease discounting in July as lockdown relaxed
British retailers discounted their goods less in July than the month before, after consumer demand picked up in many sectors as coronavirus lockdown restrictions eased, data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed today.
Average shop prices in July were 1.3 per cent lower than a year before, compared with 1.6 per cent lower in June and a record 2.4 per cent fall in May.
July’s reading was driven by a smaller price fall of 2.9 per cent for non-food prices, down from a 3.4 per cent drop in June.
“Sectors which saw a release of pent-up demand, such as electricals and furniture, saw fewer promotions,” BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said.
But other sectors, such as health and beauty retailers, remained under significant pressure, the BRC boss added.
Inflation in the food sector – one of the few areas to increase sales during lockdown, as more Brits ate at home – remained unchanged at 1.5 per cent.
Wednesday’s BRC data on retailers broadly tallied with official data last week which showed overall retail spending rebounded to around its pre-covid level in June after a previous slump of more than 20 per cent, but that there were marked differences between sectors.
Supermarkets, home hardware and online stores have done well, while sales of clothing and many other less essential goods remain significantly down compared with a year ago.
Figures from the Confederation of British Industry suggested a similar pattern continued in early July.
The BRC survey was conducted between 1 July and 7 July.