Retail sales growth stalls in second half of July

UK retail sales growth slowed sharply during the final two weeks of July as cautious consumers pulled back on discretionary spending.
Total like-for-like sales across fashion, lifestyle and homeware rose 2.7 per cent compared with July 2025, according to BDO’s latest High Street Sales Tracker.
However, BDO said growth was only slightly above inflation, indicating that the volume of goods sold increased marginally year on year.
In-store sales climbed 3.8 per cent, marking their strongest pe