Bad weather throughout the month of July – described by the Meteorological Institute as the coldest in 10 years – is the main cause of the dip in sales, Unizo said. By contrast, shopping centres, where weather plays less of a role, managed to keep their sales up by as much as 16% compared to last summer.

According to the figures, half of all retail outlets sold less than in 2010. Of those who did better, six in 10 sold the same as last year, while the rest sold more. Part of the reason for the high number of shops selling less was the need to introduce a new round of discounts halfway through the month, in response to low demand. Shops are generally required to sell off their sales stock to make room for new winter stock, forcing them into deep discounts if sales volumes are low.

One notable aspect of the poor sales performance: Even articles normally associated with holidays, such as swimsuits, sold badly, despite a surge in the number of people booking lastminute holidays in warmer climes. The last weekend of the sales was marked in Brussels by the opening of the country’s first Forever 21 store on the Nieuwstraat. The brand already has 480 stores in the US.