London retail sales in August were 8.2% higher like-for-like than they were 12 months previously, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said.
Coming the day after another survey claimed Brits are spending less on food, such a figure is lower than the 9.8% rise witnessed in August 2007, the BRC noted, yet still higher than the decline in sales seen in the UK overall.
The capital remained in a strong position despite the terrible weather to have hit the country during the summer, remarked head of retail at KPMG Helen Dickinson.
She commented: “The significant variation of results between individual retailers highlights that some in London are not immune to the current slowdown being felt by the wider UK retail market.”
London is resilient, the BRC’s director general Stephen Robertson said, because of the presence of tourists, along with discounting and the abundance of indoor shopping locations.
Food sales were strong, the organisation said, in some ways reflecting increased prices.
