Retailers enjoy sales bounceback, with figures up 1.3% on last year

Sales of autumn collections and back-to-school clothes helped retailers to enjoy a bounceback in sales last month, according to industry figures.

However, the British Retail Consortium added that steep discounting meant grocers continued to suffer from falling takings on food sales.

The BRC said that across all goods, sales were up 1.3% on a year ago in like-for-like terms in August. That was the strongest growth since January, with the exception of April when sales were distorted by Easter being late in the month.

But the pick-up followed falling sales in June and July – so on the less volatile measure of sales over three months there was no growth compared with a year ago.

The BRC said the rise in August sales was driven by clothing and footwear, with the weather having an impact. "Retailers were blessed with a hot start of the month during their summer clearances, followed by a showery and cooler second half, making the new autumn ranges attractive and relevant as they arrived on display," its sales report said.

Strong back-to-school sales helped, as did dressing-up outfits themed around Disney's Frozen film, which "proved extremely popular and sold out very quickly online", the BRC added. Furniture sales also performed well against the backdrop of a buoyant housing market.

But food sales fell in both total and like-for-like terms, and the trade group predicted that pattern would continue for some time, reflecting lower food prices.

Helen Dickinson, the director general of the BRC, said: "Consumers are still taking advantage of record low food inflation. The strength of the economy is not yet consistent across all areas of the country and shop prices fell in August."

The report echoes the latest official retail sales figures, which showed spending in food stores fell for the first time on record in July as the larger supermarkets continued to cut prices to fight off competition from the German discount food chains Aldi and Lidl.

Retail experts say with people's budgets squeezed by years of wages falling in real terms, they are increasingly shopping around for bargains and trying to waste less food.

Surveys and official figures have painted a mixed picture in recent months about the extent to which households are feeling the recovery and feeling confident enough to spend more. The real test will be Christmas spending, according to David McCorquodale, the head of retail at the report's co-author, KPMG.

"With autumn drawing in, the countdown to Christmas has now begun. This will be a true bellwether of consumer confidence," he said.