UK retail sales deteriorated unexpectedly in August, clocking the weakest performance in two years, according to a monthly report from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG.

    Total sales fell 0.3 % year on year in August, compared with a 1.9 % gain in July. Excluding Easter distortions, that is the weakest monthly performance since September 2014. Like-for-like sales fell 0.9 % , down from a 1.1 % gain in July and well below the 1.4 % gain forecast by economists. 

    The deterioration comes as a disappointment after shoppers seemingly shrugged off the economic uncertainty surrounding the vote to leave the EU, with retail sales showing an impressive gain in July, according to both the BRC and the Office for National Statistics.