June’s mixed weather hinders the high street with clothing sales down

The cooler weather in early June 2024, in contrast to 2023’s sunshine and warm weather, meant that retail spending fell 2.6% - it’s most significant year-on-year drop since June 2022 at 3.8%.

Clothing sales declined 7.7% year-on-year, as two in five (39%) Brits said they have spent less than usual on summer products this year, due to the weather, with clothes (55%) emerging as the most common cutback, according to the latest data from the monthly Barclays Consumer Spend report.

Karen Johnson, Head of Retail at Barclays, said: "Once again, our data demonstrates the undeniable impact that unseasonable weather can have on consumer spending.

"The sluggish demand at the start of June even caused some fashion brands to adjust their sales schedules, although I was pleased to see that the situation has since improved with the arrival of sunnier days.

"However, the dreariness didn’t dampen spending across the board, with takeaways, digital content and entertainment all benefitting from people sheltering at home, and hopefully we’ll see sustained interest in the Euros – regardless of England’s fate – and sunnier weather driving people to their local in July."

Overall consumer card spending, including retail, hospitality and leisure, fell 0.6% year-on-year in June, the first decline since February 2021 and "significantly lower" than the latest CPIH inflation rate of 2.8%.

Other figures from the Barclays Consumer Spend report show that:

• Supermarket spending recorded its first decline (2.6%) in two years, which comes as the majority of consumers (65%) say they’re continuing to cut back on their weekly grocery expenditure.
• Pubs, bars and clubs saw modest year-on-year growth (0.5%), with the influx of sports fans watching the Euros outweighing the bad weather - "keeping the category on par with its strong performance in June last year".
• Spending on holidays abroad continued to grow, with travel agents and airlines up 5.5% and 3.2% respectively, as holidaymakers settled final costs for their getaway.
• Overseas travel outpaced staycations, demonstrated by domestic hotels, resorts and accommodation recording a decline of 1.8%.

Additionally, while Brits maintain a steady approach to managing their budgets, consumer confidence showed signs of recovery compared to the previous month. Consumers feel more optimistic about their ability to live within their means (up to 73%) and spend more on non-essential items (56%), while confidence in job security increased four percentage points to 49%.

Meanwhile, concerns about inflation fell by one percentage point, to 85%, while concerns about the rising cost of fuel eased, as spending on fuel declined 3.2%.