May sales recover as DIY spending surges
RETAILERS saw a much-needed boost in sales last month compared with the record lows in April as lockdown turned thriving high streets into ghost towns, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Sales volumes in May jumped 12 per cent compared with the previous month, although they were still down 13.1 per cent versus February, before the full impact of the pandemic was felt.
Officials said non-food stores saw the biggest boost, helped with a 42 per cent increase in household goods store sales and the reopening of more DIY and hardware stores.
B&Q resumed trading 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 per cent of all sales, compared with 30.8 per cent in April, and fuel sales also rose as some employees started returning to work.
However, fuel sales remain 42.5 per cent lower than February as governments across the UK continue to encourage people to maintain social distancing and avoid unnecessary travel.
On a three-month measure to May, the volume of retail sales decreased by a record 12.8 per cent, with declines across all stores except food and nonstore 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 per cent in the three months to May and up 21 per cent 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 per cent – as shoppers worked their way through the extra food in their cupboards.