The heatwave boosted retail sales this month with shoppers splurging on food and drink for barbecues and garden parties but stores remain pessimistic about the future, according to the CBI.
Britain’s biggest business lobby said retail sales in the year to August accelerated above the long-term average, primarily driven by higher sales at grocers, department stores and online.
“The summer heatwave has kept shoppers out on the high street,” Anna Leach, head of economic intelligence at the CBI, said.
