Retail sales plummet to record low levels
RETAILERS SAW the sharpest decline in sales on record last month as people stayed at home due to the coronavirus lockdown and food sales cooled, according to new figures.
The monthly BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor for April revealed that total sales plummeted 19.1 per cent after non-essential stores were forced to shut their doors in the previous month.
However, food sales also dipped lower in April, compared with the same month last year, as stockpiling subsided.
The survey revealed that stores which remained open saw a 5.7 per cent increase in like-for-like sales in April as online retailers performed strongly.
Online sales of non-food products surged by 57.9 per cent in April as shoppers opted for products to be delivered to their homes.
The figures showed that sales of non-food items in stores dived by 36 per cent in the three-month period to the end of April. Meanwhile, food sales increased by 4.5 per cent for the quarter compared with the same period in 2019.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said: “Food sales were disappointing, with the virus preventing large family gatherings and turning Easter into a more modest affair,” she said.
“For many non-food goods, such as clothing, footwear and large household items, the decline was particularly steep as consumers responded to lockdown conditions.”
Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, said: “With the nation firmly under lockdown throughout April, drastic retail sales declines were to be expected.”