Heatwave and online shopping rebound delivers boost to June retail spending

Business & Finance
24 Jul 2026 • 2:38 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Heatwave and online shopping rebound delivers boost to June retail spending

Hot weather boosting clothes and air conditioning purchases and summer discounting helped lift UK retail sales last month, official figures show.

Online shopping has also rebounded to a five-year high, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS said the total volume of retail sales, which measures the quantity bought, increased by 1% in June.

This compared with a 1.2% rise in May, which was unchanged from a previous estimate.

It was also an unexpected increase for most economists who had been predicting a 0.1% monthly decline.

Retailers suggested that June’s hot spell and more sales promotions helped increasing shopping in clothing stores and online.

The ONS also said sports sales were higher last month and pointed to an increase in alcohol and tobacco sales amid the early matches of the Fifa World Cup helping drive spending.

Between April and June, retail sales are estimated to have risen by 0.6% compared with the first three months of the year, according to the ONS.

ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said: “Internet retailers did especially well, with businesses telling us that this was because of promotions and the warm weather, with strong demand in June for outdoor products, air conditioning and clothing.

“Sports merchandise also sold well online.

“With internet retailers faring well, the proportion of online sales has risen to its highest since spring 2021 when coronavirus restrictions were ending.”

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