Retail sales jumped in June as the heatwave and heavy discounting drove Brits towards online shopping. The volume of retail sales jumped by one per cent in June, having slowed slightly from 1.2 per cent growth in May, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Online shopping grew to
Felix Armstrong
Friday 24 July 2026 7:26 am | Updated: Friday 24 July 2026 7:27 am
Retail sales jumped in June as the heatwave and heavy discounting drove Brits towards online shopping.
The volume of retail sales jumped by one per cent in June, having slowed slightly from 1.2 per cent growth in May, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Online shopping grew to the largest proportion of total retail sales since spring 2021, when the covid-19 pandemic kept Brits away from the high street.
Non-store retailing saw the biggest jump among spending sectors in June, rising 4.4 per cent, while department store sale volumes slipped by 1.7 per cent.
Sales at food stores inched up by 0.3 per cent last month, as purchases at household goods stores fell by 0.6 per cent.
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Hannah Finselbach, senior statistician at the ONS, said: “Internet retailers did especially well, with business telling us that this was because of promotions and the warm weather.”
Online retailers saw huge demand for outdoor products, air conditioning and clothing, Finselbach said.
Fuel sales slip after stockpiling ends
While high demand for fuel had buoyed retail sales figures in recent months, demand for petrol and diesel has appeared to fall off a cliff in the last quarter.
Automotive fuel sales fell by 0.8 per cent in June, marking a six per cent drop over the last three months.
While motorists had been stockpiling fuel in the first few weeks of the Iran war, soaring energy prices in April kept motorists away from the pumps and demand has yet to return, the ONS said.
Inflation took a surprise drop from 2.8 to 2.6 per cent in June, dragged down by the sharp fall in fuel prices which came a few weeks ago.
But energy prices are tipped to rise again following fresh strikes between the US and Iran, including Houthi attacks on tankers in the Red Sea.
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