Food sales increased 9.8% on a total basis and 10.1% on a like-for-like basis over the three months to June, according to the latest BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.
The data shows that for the month of June, food was in growth year-on-year.
In addition, UK Total retail sales increased by 4.9% in June, against a decline of 1.0% in June 2022. This is above the three-month average growth of 4.6% and the 12-month average growth of 4.0%.
Meanwhile, UK Like-for-like retail sales increased by 4.2% in June, against a decline of 1.3% in June 2022. This was below the three-month average growth of 4.3% and above the 12-month average growth of 3.6%.
Sarah Bradbury, Chief Executive at IGD, said: “June was yet another month of very high growth in food and drink sales, driven largely by ongoing inflation. However, there are signs of better news, with volume sales on the cusp of registering a positive performance after being almost permanently negative for the last two years. This was almost certainly underpinned by the record good weather last month.
“The hot weather in June also helped lift people’s spirits, with IGD’s Shopper Confidence Index improving to its highest level since December ’21. This filtered through to how shoppers feel about food prices, with 30% now expecting food prices to stay the same or decline in the next year, compared to 16% at the start of the year. Although we’re far from out of the woods, with 59% of those with a mortgage or rent saying they will have to cut back their spending further to absorb the increase in mortgage costs, compared to 46% in March ’23.”
Paul Martin, UK Head of Retail at KPMG, added: “Apart from a blip in May, retail sales growth has remained steady at around 5% every month in the first half of this year. However, the growth comes against a background of much higher inflation levels – resulting in reduced margins and profitability for operators across the sector.
“As we move into the last half the year, retailers will be hoping that anticipated falls in inflation start to deliver stronger sales growth in order to improve the overall health of the sector.”
