Retail sales rose in June as supermarket sales were buoyed by the England team’s progress in football’s European Championships.

The amount spent at retailers jumped 13.1% in June compared to the same month last year, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Excluding fuel, sales values increased 9.6%.

Sales volumes rose 9.7% year-on-year including fuel and 7.4% excluding fuel.

Gains were driven by food stores, which enjoyed a 4.2% uptick in sales volumes in June compared to the previous month. The ONS said sales were “positively boosted” by Euro 2020 as England made it to the final.

By contrast, the volume of goods bought at non-food stores fell 1.7% month on month. It marked the first monthly decline in sales of non-food items since January.

 

Household goods stores saw a 10.9% decline in sales volumes compared to May, driven by falling purchases of furniture and white goods.

However, the ONS noted that those categories had also been hit by product shortages as a result of transportation delays.

Despite that impact, sales of household goods remained 14% higher than in June 2020 and 15.8% above pre-pandemic levels in February 2020.

Fashion and department stores also suffered 4.7% and 3.6% declines in sales volumes respectively, but other non-food stores – a category that includes toys, sports equipment and second-hand shops – enjoyed an 8.6% uplift month on month.

The amount spent online in June dropped 8.7% year on year as shoppers returned to stores

Fashion was the only sector to register an uptick in online spend, recording a 5% increase.

The ONS data suggested that 26.7% of all retail spend was made through online channels in June.

 

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