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3 Minutes to Read (Reuters) – LONDON (Reuters) – Despite significant store closures a year ago owing to the coronavirus epidemic, British merchants recorded a record annual increase in sales in the three months to the end of June. FILE PHOTO: Shoppers cross Oxford Street in London, United Kingdom. 14th of August, 2016. Peter Nicholls/REUTERS Sales in the second quarter of 2021 were 28.4% higher than a year ago and 10.4% higher than two years ago, according to the British Retail Consortium, whose members are mostly huge high-street retailers and supermarkets. The increase was the greatest year-over-year since the BRC began keeping records in 1995. “The gradual opening of the UK economy facilitated the release of pent-up demand,” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC. While supermarkets remained open throughout the epidemic, ‘non-essential’ merchants such as clothes stores remained closed for the majority of the year before reopening on April 12 in England. Other sections of the United Kingdom had different dates. Total sales increased by 13.1 percent in June compared to the same month two years ago, compared to 10.0 percent in May. Sales were 10.4% higher overall and 6.7 percent higher on a like-for-like basis, which adjusts for changes in floorspace, compared to last year. “But the sun shone in the first half of June, fashion and footwear did well, while the commencement of Euro 2020 boosted TVs, snack food, and beer,” Dickinson said. Before losing in the final against Italy on Sunday, England’s men’s soccer squad had a fantastic run in the Euro 2020 international tournament. The numbers of shoppers during the tournament’s last week were unimpressive, according to data released on Monday for early July. Barclaycard, a payments processor, reported that its gauge of consumer spending increased by 11.1 percent in June compared to June 2019. Spending increased 7.6% in May, according to the same metric, which is based on nearly half of all credit and debit card payments in the UK. Pub and bar spending increased by 38% compared to two years ago, the largest increase since September, and food and drink specialist retailers such as off-licences saw sales increase by 76%. “The heatwave early in the month inspired many of us to come out in the sunshine and socialize,” said Barclaycard’s head of consumer products, Raheel Ahmed. “June saw Brits throng back to pubs, clubs, and beer gardens to watch football and tennis on the big screens,” he said. David Milliken contributed reporting, and Kirsten Donovan edited the piece./nRead More

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