British retail sales edged up in August after a weak couple of months, official data showed today, helped by sales of clothing - particularly school uniforms.
Retail sales volumes rose 0.2% on the month to show 3.7% growth on the year, having stalled in July and dipped in June in monthly terms, the Office for National Statistics said.
UK economists had expected retail sales to rise 0.2% and for sales to be up 3.8% compared with August last year.
"Small stores were particularly boosted in August by sales of school uniforms, while most of the growth in large stores was coming from online," the ONS said.
The UK economy relies heavily on consumer demand for growth. A pick-up in wage growth this year, combined with inflation hovering around zero, has helped restore some of the spending power lost in the years after the financial crisis.
The Bank of England is keeping a close eye on wage growth and its impact on demand and inflation as it mulls its first rate hike in over seven years.
The ONS said sales of textiles, clothing and footwear jumped 2.3% in August, the biggest jump since April, and was up 1.9% from a year ago.
Sales volumes at food stores fell 0.9% last month, posing the biggest drag on the overall retail sales figures, but were up 0.8% from a year ago.
ONS officials said retailers were reporting that the fall in food sales in August reflected large numbers of people going on holiday, even taking the usual seasonal adjustment into account.
