Retail sales volumes rose 0.6% in September following a 0.1% dip in August with shoppers buying winter clothes and school uniforms.
Shoppers buying winter clothes and school uniforms boosted British retail sales last month, reinforcing hopes that the economy is on the road to recovery.
Retail sales volumes rose 0.6% in September following a 0.1% dip in August, according to the Office for National Statistics. City economists had pencilled in a 0.4% rise.
Sales were 1% higher between July and September than in the previous three months, the strongest quarterly rise since mid-2010. This bodes well for economic growth in the third quarter, suggesting that Britain came out of recession again after three quarters of contraction.
Many families bought school uniforms in September because schools started later than last year after the summer break, and shoppers also snapped up retailers’ new winter collections, the statistics office said. It had no evidence of an Olympics effect, although larger shops had reported some disruption in August during the Games, while sports goods and toy stores enjoyed a surge in sales.