Retail spending heats up in June due to warm weather
This was also particularly buoyed by an increase in food sales, which grew by 4.1% for the month on the back of accelerating price inflation.
Recent figures from the trade group showed that food inflation increased to 3.7% in June, while fresh food was 3.2% more expensive than a year ago.
The BRC found that non-food sales increased by 2.2% in June, with similar rates of growth across online and in stores.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: 'Retail sales heated up in June, with both food and non-food performing well.
'The soaring temperatures increased sales of electric fans while sports and leisure equipment was boosted by both the weather and the start of Wimbledon.
'Food sales remained strong, though this was in part driven by food inflation, which has risen steadily over the course of the year.'
Linda Ellett, UK head of consumer, retail and leisure at KPMG, said: 'Home appliances and homeware purchases helped retail sales to grow in June, as new homebuyers and those having a refresh in their current home took advantage of summer promotions both in-store and online.'
Nevertheless, similar spending data from Barclays painted a slightly different picture, pointing towards a marginal dip in monthly spending.
It reported that consumer card spending was 0.1% lower in June, as essential spending dropped for the month.
Barclays said essential spending was down 2.1% for the month, according to its card data, despite the improvement in weather.
It, however, highlighted that sporting events and festivals helped drive an uptick of non-essential spending, with entertainment, hotels and travel spending all higher.
The figures also showed that furniture retailers saw a strong month, with an 8.2% increase in sales.
The overall dip came despite surveyed customers indicating that their confidence about their finances is at its strongest level for four months.
Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays, said: 'Despite the warm weather, which usually boosts non-essential sectors such as retail and hospitality, consumers spent cautiously in June, prioritising value as they navigate economic uncertainty.
'Encouragingly, entertainment, beauty and furniture stores bucked the trend, while confidence in household finances improved, showing consumers' willingness to spend on the things that matter most to them.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Telegraph
‘Will pension rules block me from withdrawing £50k?'
Write to Pensions Doctor with your pension problem: pensionsdoctor@ Columns are published weekly. Dear Charlene, I've reached age 60, which is the retirement age for my Barclays pension. Part of my pension is in the old Barclays 1964 defined benefit scheme, and this will pay me an income for life. The rest is in the 'Afterwork' scheme that replaced it. The scheme is made up of a credit account and an investment account. My understanding was that Afterwork was a defined contribution scheme, and I would be able to simply transfer this part somewhere else to access drawdown, but I'm confused by the credit account element and what this means. It is referred to as a 'cash balance arrangement'. Does this mean it is also a defined benefit scheme? The reason for asking is that the credit account is worth around £50,000, and I need to know if it comes under the rules requiring independent financial advice. From reading your column, if it counts as a defined benefit, I think I am going to struggle to find anyone to give me the required advice. This risks leaving me with an annuity as my only option, which would drastically alter my plans. I really need access to drawdown to top up my income until I receive my state pension, at which point I will have enough for my needs in retirement. I am hoping I am not going to end up stuck in limbo. Kind regards, Dear Carole, The pension tax rules split pension schemes into categories based on the benefits they can provide. Cash balance pensions are classed as a type of defined contribution scheme. They differ from most other defined contribution schemes because the value of the end pot doesn't just depend on what is paid in (contributions) and investment returns. Instead, there is also usually a guaranteed sum at retirement. This could be a minimum pot value or a guaranteed amount built up each year. While a guarantee might make it sound like a defined benefit scheme – and many resources online incorrectly label cash balance schemes as defined benefit – they are treated as defined contribution or money purchase. Moving to the Barclays Afterwork scheme, the 'credit account' is the guaranteed element. According to my research, this would build up a guaranteed credit of 20pc of your pensionable salary each month if you contributed 3pc of your salary each month towards it. The scheme also applied inflation-linked increases each year to the value of the credit account up to a maximum of 5pc. The money paid into the credit account is managed by Barclays, together with the scheme trustees, to ensure you can benefit from the full guarantee at the scheme retirement age. As you've mentioned, Barclays Afterwork has a normal retirement age of 60, and it is currently closed to new entrants. You could also make additional contributions to the second section of the Afterwork scheme, known as the investment account. You picked how much extra to pay in (as a lump sum or regular contributions), and Barclays would match this up to 3pc of your pensionable salary. If you chose to pay into the investment account, you'd have chosen a fund for the cash to be invested into. This section would move up and down in value, depending only on how your chosen fund performed and how much was paid in. As you are already at the scheme's retirement age, the trustees should have set out your options and what you need to do to access your pension in the way you'd like to. Drawdown can only be paid from cash balance pensions and other money purchase schemes. That doesn't mean a scheme must offer a drawdown, but it is another difference between defined benefit schemes, which cannot offer a drawdown. If your scheme does not offer drawdown, you should be able to transfer the total account (both credit and investment sections) to a scheme that does. You can request confirmation of the transfer value from the Barclays Afterwork trustees. Now that you've reached retirement age, there should not be a difference between the total account value and transfer value. People transferring before reaching the age of 60 should take care, as an adjustment can often be applied to the credit account to reflect early retirement. When you must get advice You must get specialist financial advice to transfer, cash in, or convert a plan that contains 'safeguarded benefits' worth £30,000 or more. This includes converting these funds to provide a flexible income using drawdown. The definition of safeguarded benefits includes defined benefits (like your Barclays 1964 scheme) but also casts a wider net, including other pots with guaranteed minimum pensions and/or guaranteed annuity rates attached to them. The legal definition of safeguarded rights (which can be found in the Pension Schemes Act 2015) appears to specifically exclude cash balance arrangements. While there might not be a legal requirement to get advice, you can still engage a regulated adviser to help you find the best way to bridge your income between now and reaching state pension age. An adviser can help you understand which option is best for your individual circumstances, recommend a provider, and even recommend an investment strategy to help you support your withdrawals, should you decide to move forward with drawdown. There is plenty to double-check with the trustees of the Barclays Afterwork scheme here, but I'm really hopeful that you will not be left in limbo as you initially feared. With best wishes, - Charlene Charlene Young is a pensions and savings expert at online investment platform AJ Bell. Her columns should not be taken as advice or as a personal recommendation, but as a starting point for readers to undertake their own further research.
Daily Mirror
15 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Barclays warns 'you'll need to pay this fee' to qualify for £175 payment
Only certain types of customers can get the £175 Barclays bonus Barclays is offering £175 to select customers - but you may need to pay a fee to bag the bonus cash. The extra payment is on offer to new customers only, when opening either a Barclays Bank Account or Premier Current Account. You will need to open either account in the Barclays app to qualify for the funds, as well as carrying out a full switch using the Current Account Switch Service. The Barclays Bank Account is the bank's standard current account but if you choose to open this account, you will also need to sign up for Blue Rewards to get the £175 payment. There are some fees involved in signing up for this service. The Barclays website explains: "There's a £5 monthly fee for Blue Rewards. If you're not eligible for Barclays Premier, you'll need to sign up to Blue Rewards and pay this fee to qualify for the switch offer." The monthly fee comes out of your nominated current account on the second working day of the month. This will show on your statement as 'Blue Rewards Fee'. Barclays says the first monthly fee will be taken in the month after you join Barclays Blue Rewards, on the second working day. The fee pays for your access to the account's features for the month ahead, rather than for the previous month. To get Barclays Blue Rewards, you also have to pay in at least £800 a month into the account each month. Through the service, you can access rewards such as up to 15 percent cashback and access to the Rainy Day Saver, which pays 4.61 percent. How do I qualify for the Barclays £175 switch bonus? To get the cash payment, you will need to either open a sole Barclays Bank Account or a sole Premier Current Account. If you open the Barclays Bank Account, you will also need to join Blue Rewards to get the extra cash. Customers have to complete a full switch using the Current Account Switch Service. This move over all your direct debits and other regular payments. To get the cash, your switch must also include two active direct debits. You also need to complete the switch within 30 days of requesting it. And you must pay in at least £1,500 into the new account within 30 days of opening it. Another rule is that your new eligible current account has to still be open when Barclays pays you the £175. The switch offer will be available from July 15 to August 28, although you may want to act soon as Barclays can change this at any time. A person will not qualify if they opened a Barclays current account before July 15, 2025, or if they have benefited from a Barclays switch offer before. You also can't get the free cash when opening a joint account.
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Brazil economy on track despite U.S. tariffs, but inflation risk up
July 21 (Reuters) - Brazil's economic growth will stay on track despite the imposition of U.S. tariffs, according to a Reuters poll of economists, but inflation appears at greater risk of worsening if trade negotiations flounder. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened this month to set a 50% duty on Brazilian goods on August 1 in a spat with his counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who vowed to retaliate if diplomacy broke down. However, even under steep tariffs, Brazil's economy should continue expanding at a gradual rate in 2025 and next year with the help of a resilient jobs market. Brazil's gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to increase 2.2% this year and 1.7% in 2026, according to the median estimate of 38 analysts polled on July 14-21. As in other countries, economists are mostly sticking to a baseline scenario with moderate tariffs. Both forecasts were slightly better than the consensus view of 2.0% and 1.6%, respectively, in an April survey. "The domestic labor market remains quite tight, with unemployment at new lows and the real wage mass still expanding at a brisk pace," said Roberto Secemski, a Barclays economist. "At the margin the uncertainty from tariffs reduces those upside risks, but we don't see them derailing growth at this point." In the poll, inflation is forecast to slow to 4.4% next year from 5.2% in 2025, just a sliver below the top end of the central bank's goal of 3.0% plus or minus 1.5 percentage point. On potential tariff negotiations between the U.S. and Brazil, 13 of 16 participants who shared a view expected the August 1 deadline set by Washington to be extended, giving room for talks. Two envisaged a "no deal" situation that would lead to the implementation of the planned 50% U.S. tariff right after the ultimatum date, mirrored by Brazilian retaliation measures. One saw a deal leaving in place a lower original 10% "reciprocal tariff" the U.S. put on Brazil and other countries in April, with no reprisal from Brasilia. Hopes for negotiations contrasted with elevated tensions last week after Lula called the threatened duty "unacceptable blackmail", while Washington imposed sanctions on Brazilian officials. Trump has linked the 50% tariff to the treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial over charges of plotting a coup. Additionally, the U.S. launched an investigation into Brazil's trading practices. Still, the median U.S. tariff on Brazilian goods assumed in analysts' forecasts was 30%, according to answers to another question, considerably lower than Trump's threatened 50%. Responses to a separate question on Brazil's potential GDP growth in 2026 in a "no deal" scenario pointed to a 1.6%-1.7% consensus range, virtually the same expansion as in the baseline case. While the U.S. is the second biggest destination of Brazil's exports after China, analysts noted the Latin American country may avoid tariff impact by further redirecting trade to its top market in Asia. Yet the median range for next year's inflation forecast under "no deal" was 4.4%-4.9%. This reflected some chances of Brazil exceeding the upper inflation goal bound of 4.5%, which would again frustrate the central bank. Policymakers are expected to keep the country's benchmark interest rate at a two-decade high of 15% at least until the end of 2025, the poll showed. "The main impact of a no-deal scenario and retaliation by Brazil would likely be on the exchange rate," Santander analysts wrote. "Uncertainty about the effects of these events on the domestic economy would probably be reflected in currency depreciation and a reversal of the current inflation downward trend." (Other stories from the Reuters global economic poll)
