Retail sales for June came in far below expectations in today’s monthly update by the Office of National Statistics.
Sales in the UK declined 1.2% month over month, a threefold undershoot against the 0.4% slip expected by analysts.
It follows a 2.9% rise in May.
Poor June weather took the blame for underwhelming sales among department stores, clothing, footwear and furniture retailers.
But online sales bore the brunt of the shoddy monthly trading conditions, falling 2.7% compared to May.
The June print was more flattering on a year-on-year basis, slipping just 0.2%.
“Retail sales have been enormously volatile this year, as they are bounced around by the weather and measurement problems,” said Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
“That enormous volatility can disguise the underlying trend. Retail volumes were not booming in May and neither are they collapsing now.”