Household goods sales drive up shop figures
Furniture sales and household goods helped fuel a retail rebound last month, according to new figures.
The monthly British Retail Consortium/KPMGsales monitor for January revealed that total sales surged 11.9% against the same month last year – although this was strengthened by significant price inflation.
Shops saw customers return after a December which was hamstrung by pandemic restrictions and rising C ovid -19 case rates, which disrupted the key Christmas period.
Retail experts said the easing of restrictions, however, reduced grocery sales, with total food sales dropping by 0.1% for the past three months.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail
Consortium (BRC), said: "Food sales were more muted than in previous months, as people went back to eating out more often and consumers prioritised home purchases, boosting the sale of household appliances, electronics and homeware.
"In what maybe sign sofa return top re-pandemic trends, furniture was the stand-out performer in January.”
The figures show sales of non-food items, ranging from fashion to furnishings, increased by 11.1% over the three months to January, compared with the same period a year earlier.
Store sales jumped by more than two thirds as shops were largely shut over the same period last year.
Online sale of non-food items dropped by 24.2% in January as customers moved some of their shopping habits back to physical stores.
Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, said: "With Covid restrictions now eased, and people heading back to workplaces, retailers will be hoping consumer confidence remains robust.”