Reuters on info from a survey by business consultancy BDO:
- Total like-for-like retail sales increased by 3.6% in August compared with the same month last year
- online sales fell by 0.6%, their first decline since March
- "September's results will show just how significant the pull-back in discretionary spending is likely to be this winter but clearly these results in August show that consumers are cutting their budgets," BDO Head of Retail Sophie Michael said.
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The pullback on discretionary spending is happening as households direct their spending towards essentials as prices for good, and particularly energy usage, soar.
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The Bank of England is between a rock and a hard place with skyrocketing inflation and a slumping economy.
