Looking at all retail apart from the grocery sector, like-for-like in-store sales fell by 0.8% in June, clearly not helped by the wet weather last month. It may not sound like a high number but if that were to happen every month, it would add up to a hefty drop in a year.It’s not even as if June last year was a buoyant month that would have made the comparisons this time difficult, as the fall back then was 1.7%.

So this June’s number was yet another bad news headline and a further blow to a struggling high street that has seen 16 out of 17 consecutive months of no in-store sales growth.While the fact that the fashion sector managed to avoid a fall (with its sales flat in June) may have seemed like good news, it really wasn’t. The fact is that June 2018 saw a 2.3% fall and the sector didn’t manage to improve on that figure so it made up no ground this time, even though the summer clearance sales started early. Homewares proved to be the lone bright spot on the high street as in-store sales increased 5.6% last month, although this was from a negative base of -2.4% a year ago, but at least the sector managed to wipe out that deficit and show some improvement.Non-store like-for-like sales (that is, online sales) provided some relief during the month with a 16.5% increase, but it was the second lowest result for the category this year, despite hitting a high of +21.02% in the middle of the month.Sophie Michael, Head of Retail and Wholesale at BDO, said: “June was another washout month for the high street. We saw retailers discount early on in June, adding further pressure to tight margins, yet they still weren’t able to salvage the month. Retailers are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They want to invest and adapt but they don’t have the funds or confidence to do so. At the same time, shoppers are holding back as consumer confidence falls and discretionary spend slips away.”And she added: “June marked the third anniversary of the EU referendum yet we still have no clear path forward. The uncertainty for both consumers and businesses is having a crippling effect. Time is running out and the government urgently needs to take action to help save the UK high street.”