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UK records best retail sales in July since 2006.

The British heatwave seems to have driven the best sales in July for seven years – according to the British Retail Consortium and KPMG, retail sales rose by 2.2% and total sales 3.9%.

Retail sales for July also represent the second best monthly performance in 2013. Food and clothing sales led the upwards surge as shoppers spent more on barbecue food and summer clothing.

The BRC said that the food performance was the strongest outside Christmas and Easter since at least 2009, boosting the supermarket and grocery industry.

David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, said it had been a “golden month” for retail sales. Helen Dickinson, director general of the BRC, said, “The Lions, Murray, Chris Froome in the Tour de France and the start of the Ashes series all contributed to the positive summer feeling.”

Conversely, the growth in online sales slowed down by almost half. Internet sales grew 7.9% year-on-year last month, compared to 15.6% in July 2012.

DIY and gardening were also strong categories, together with toys including paddling pools, while in electricals, fridges, freezers and air-conditioning systems did well, although tablet computer sales appear to have flattened out.

Books suffered from the absence of any equivalent to the smash-hit Fifty Shades Of Grey last year, and sales were significantly lower.