While summer often evokes a feeling of free spirits – long nights spent in the garden, spontaneous beach days and a desire to barbecue almost everything – this season, we seem to be showing a slightly more cautious side, especially when it comes to our purchases.

Of course, there’s the cost of living crisis, causing 64% of us to spend less on non-essential items, fashion, beauty and homeware all included. But there are signs that something else could be swaying our spending, and John Lewis’s recent sales stats are starting to convince me that it could be the sun.

The UK-based department store has just reported an impressive 71% increase in sun care sales compared to last year, with Ultrasun the most popular brand. Face sunscreen also saw an impressive increase of 23%, proving the product is gaining some real popularity. Clearly, we’re starting to take sun protection more seriously. But could these sun-safe thoughts could be trickling down to our swimwear? Allow me to explain.

Long-sleeved swimsuits are this summer’s statement style