LONDON, Sept 20: London’s Olympics have had a negative impact on Britain’s retail sector, official data showed on Thursday, although the country remained set to exit a deep recession in the third quarter.

Sales volumes in Britain fell 0.2 per cent during August compared with July, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement, as online buying suffered the biggest drop in almost five years.

The ONS also revealed that sales in August grew 2.7 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier. However, non-store retail sales — which is mostly online business but also includes mail order — tumbled by 6.7 per cent in August. That was the biggest monthly drop since December 2007.

“Feedback from online retailers suggests that sales were lower as consumers watched the Olympics instead of shopping online,” the ONS said. The London Games took place for a little over two weeks covering mostly the first half of August.—AFP