Online proves saviour of UK retail sector
Britain’s retail sector continued to be propped up by online s a l e s g r owth l a s t month, official figures show.
Overall sales volumes were flat in April, defying economists’ expectations of a 0.3 per cent decline, underpinned by rapid online growth.
In the three months to April, overall volumes rose by 1.8 per cent compared to the previous three months, according to the Office for National Statistics’ latest figures.
All sectors except department stores and household goods stores showed growth in the three- month period.
Department stores suffered from store closures since last year, with sales dipping 0.5 per cent, while household goods stores saw a 2.9 per cent decline.
But this was offset by growth across several other sectors. The biggest contributor to the rise was non- store retailing, growing by a record 9.4 per cent in the period.
Al a s t a i r Ne a me, s e n i o r economist at the Centre for E c o n o mi c s a n d B u s i n e s s Research ( CEBR), said: “The solid growth in sales will be a boost to retailers that have been struggling over recent months, but with the UK economy just ticking over this still represents a tough trading environment.”
Lisa Hooker, consumer markets leader at PWC, said: “As we look ahead to the rest of the year, the continued resilience of consumer sentiment may bring some positive respite for retailers, but it’s increasingly looking like it’s online operators who will benefit the most. The record net store closures found by PWC and LDC in 2018 may yet persist into 2019.”