An uptick in sales of food during the Jubilee weekend was offset by slower sales across the rest of the retail sector to see June retail volumes drop 0.1 per cent compared to previous month.
The Jubilee weekend saw food shops sell 3.1 per cent more food last month than they did in May, as alcohol and tobacco stores also got a 3.5 per cent boost.
The Jubilee boost offset the lower food sales seen in recent months as a result of higher prices and rising living costs.
However, the uptick in sales over the Jubilee Weekend failed to offset lower fuel and retail sector sales.
Fuel sales dropped 4.3 per cent in June, to levels 7.6 per cent lower than before the pandemic, as customers were put off from filling up their tanks due to high petrol and diesel prices.
Sales in the retail sector also fell 0.7 per cent across June – to rates 1.4 per cent higher than pre-Covid levels – as customers were deterred from spending due to rising living costs.
The drop saw sales of clothing drop 4.7 per cent and sales of household goods drop 3.7 per cent.
Online spending also fell 2.7 per cent as spending dropped across all sub-sectors of the online economy apart from in department stores.