Retailers in August continued to slog through the dog days of summer, as sales figures declined for the sixth month out of eight this year, a new survey reveals.
The Bank of England's interest rate cut at the beginning of the month did little to spark consumer spending, as the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show a 1% decline on like-for-like sales against figures from August 2004.
Like-for-like growth has now been in negative territory for six of the last eight months and the fifth consecutively.
"The August retail sales figures show some improvement over July, but they are against weaker comparatives in August 2004 and therefore do not represent any reversal of the trend seen over the past few months," said Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG.
However, she cautioned that, "August is a low-volume month, so it's difficult to read too much into it."
Still, she added, there is 'no doubt' that trading conditions remain difficult and no sector is doing particularly well as a result.
Coupled with the interest rate cut, retailers' early summer sales failed to loosen consumers' money belts.
Warm weather across the country followed by cold and rain produced mixed results across the sector.
Big-ticket items took the biggest hit. Shoppers shunned furniture, carpets and large electrical items, putting off their purchases for better times.
Clothing and footwear suffered sharp falls, much larger than previous drops in July and June.
Food sales were also weaker than their previous two months.
Kevin Hawkins, director general of the BRC, warned that conditions may persist.
"Any growth came from heavy discounting, which is not sustainable, especially as retailers' margins are already being squeezed by rising labour, property and energy costs," Hawkins said.
"The underlying position is still weak and unlikely to improve unless and until there are further cuts in interest rates, and these work through the consumer. Anything else is wishful thinking."
