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Retail sales volumes rose by 1% in June 2026

ended 24. July 2026

Retail sales volumes are estimated to have risen by 1.0% in June 2026. This followed a rise of 1.2% in May 2026, and a fall of 0.7% in April 2026 (revised up from a 1.0% fall in our previous bulletin), new figures showed. 

They rose by 4.2% compared with June 2025.

Non-store retailers' sales rose, which retailers reported was the result of both sales promotions and demand for items such as sports merchandise, clothing, outdoor products, and fans and air conditioning. 

Clothing stores sales rose by 1.9%, their largest monthly rise since September 2025. Retailers reported again that this was the result of a boost from sales promotions and the warm weather. 

Within other non-food stores, art galleries performed well in June 2026, and there were broader comments from retailers that the weather boosted sales of warm weather goods.

  • What is your reaction to the figures?
  • Are you seeing evidence for this in your stores/shops?
  • What is your prediction for the rest of the summer?

Responses asap.

 

3 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Harry Goodliffe
Director at HTG Mortgages
This is good news for retailers, but I'm not convinced it's a turning point. The sunshine has brought people onto the high street, while online retailers have clearly benefited from strong demand for fans, air conditioning and other seasonal items. I also run a small seasonal homeware and gift shop, so I'll be watching closely to see whether that spending carries into the summer holidays. The challenge comes when the weather changes and households are once again faced with the reality of stretched budgets. Sustained growth will come from stronger confidence in Government and rising disposable incomes, not just a few weeks of sunshine.
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Ben Perks
Managing Director at Orchard Financial Advisers
How much of this uptick is due to retail spaces being air conditioned? People were in a weather and World Cup induced frenzy, so whilst it’s great to see that spending is up, I don’t think it reflects a buoyant economy and people with disposable income.
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Nicholas Found
Head of Commercial Insights at Retail Economics
June gave retail another weather-fuelled lift. Much of the momentum came from heatwave demand, the World Cup and discounts unlocking spending in seasonal categories, with online doing the heavy lifting. That tells you this is still a market driven by timing, temperature and occasions rather than a clean recovery in underlying demand.
This leaves retailers facing a familiar but intensifying challenge. Demand is there, but it is fragmented, channel-shifting and increasingly won at a competitor’s expense. In this environment, the winners are those combining sharp value perception with disciplined execution, and the agility to respond quickly to moments that unlock spend.
The new Prime Minister is rightly trying to show progress on the cost of living, but retailers are still absorbing wage, energy and supply chain pressures of their own. This cannot be overlooked. June may have been helped by sunshine and sport, but sustaining growth in the second half will require more structural support.