BRC: British Retail Sales Stagnant in August

UK retail spending stagnated in the last month, as the uncertain weather and public holidays are not used to dampen sales of furniture and clothes and school supplies.

The British Retail Consortium said retail spending in August rose only 0.1% from a year earlier, the smallest gain since April and lower than the 2.2% growth in July. When adjusted for the effects of falling prices in the shopping center, sales increased 1.4% in August.

One of the reasons that reduce the number of sales is a bank holiday at the end of August, which is usually the time for consumers to buy clothing and school supplies as well as season discounts for furniture, according to the BRC. Humid weather towards the end of August also hurt demand for fashion collections autumn and winter the most, especially shoes.