Retail sales improve from record lows – but shops still suffering

RETAILERS saw a much-needed boost in sales last month compared with the record lows in April as lockdown turned once-thriving high streets into ghost towns, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Sales volumes in May jumped 12% compared with the previous month, although they were still down 13.1% versus February, before the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic was felt.

Officials said non-food stores saw the biggest boost, helped with a 42% increase in household goods store sales and the reopening of more DIY and hardware stores.

B&Q resumed trading last month, with huge queues of shoppers in car parks, desperate for a DIY fix, while Ikea reopened earlier this month, with hour-long lines of customers waiting to get in.

Online shopping hit a new high, making up 33.4% of all sales, compared with 30.8% in April, and fuel sales also rose as some employees started returning to work.

However, fuel sales remain 42.5% lower than February as governments across the UK continue to encourage people to maintain social distancing and avoid unnecessary travel. Oil prices have also tanked compared with a year ago as demand dries up.

On a three-month measure to May, the volume of retail sales decreased by a record 12.8%, with declines across all stores except food and non-store retailing, the ONS added.

During the month, the ONS also found that the rate of growth in online-only retailers increased strongly, rising 24.3% in the three months to May and up 21% compared with April.

However, with households stockpiling food and home products in March, food stores saw a slight decline in the amount of goods sold – down 0.3% – as shoppers worked their way through the extra food in their cupboards.

The overall data was slightly skewed, however, due to fuel sales typically accounting for just over 10.4% of total retail sales – with most supermarkets selling fuel from forecourts on their retail sites.

However, in May it only accounted for 5.5% of total revenues. As travel restrictions eased in May, fuel sales rose 49.1% compared with April.