LONDON – British retailers are downbeat concerning the outlook for August because the cost-of-living squeeze weighs on demand, regardless of a comparatively modest dip in spending this month, figures from the Confederation of British Business confirmed on Tuesday.
The CBI‘s July retail gross sales steadiness for July edged as much as -4 from June’s -5, however expectations for August dropped to -14, the weakest studying since March 2021 when many retailers nonetheless confronted COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
“Retail exercise continues to take a success as customers wrestle to deal with the results of the cost-of-living disaster,” CBI economist Martin Sartorius stated.
Client value inflation hit a 40-year excessive of 9.4% in June – forcing many patrons to spend extra on necessities akin to gas – whereas official figures for June confirmed that retail gross sales volumes excluding gas had been 5.9% decrease than the yr earlier than.
In an indication that provide chain difficulties are easing – and that retailers worry having an excessive amount of inventory on their arms as demand weakens – the CBI‘s steadiness for retail inventory ranges relative to anticipated demand was its highest since July 2020.
The survey was primarily based on responses from 53 retailers between June 27 and July 13.
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