Retail sales fall at fastest pace in two years

Retail sales are falling at their fastest pace in two years, a CBI survey has shown. The net balance of retail sales in August tumbled to -44%, down from -25% in July. It was the biggest drop in sales since March 2021, according to the latest CBI distributive trades survey. The survey echoes weaker-than-expected retail sales numbers from the Office for National Statistics last week, which showed that sales dropped by a larger-than-expected 1.2% over the past month because of the unusually wet weather in July. The Times (£)The Guardian