(Alliance News) - UK retail sales remained in decline last month, numbers on Tuesday showed, though the May figure made for much better reading for a sector that has been battered by the Covid-19 crisis.
The British Retail Consortium-KPMG sales monitor showed May sales dropped by 5.9% year-on-year, versus a 1.9% fall in the year prior.
Despite the May fall being the second worst on record in the UK, it was an improvement from the 19% plunge registered in April. It also compares favourably to the three-month average fall of 9.4% but is worse than the 12-month average of a 2.6% decline.
On a like-for-like basis, UK retail sales fell 7.9% annually in May, compared to a 2.2% decline a year earlier.
BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said: "Sales in May demonstrated yet another month of struggle for retailers across the country, despite an improvement on the previous month."
In-store non-food sales slumped 50% in the three months to May, highlighting just how much tumbling demand and the virus lockdown have pummelled the sector.
In May alone, online non-food sales jumped 60%, however, topping the 4.4% growth in May 2019.
Food sales have risen 8.7% on a like-for-like basis over the three-month period to May, helped by a boost from consumer stockpiling over fears of shortages in the early stages of the pandemic.
Dickinson added: "As the sun came out and restaurants lay dormant, food sales rose with consumers taking to their local parks for beers, BBQs and picnics. Clothing and beauty sales improved slightly on April, as people left their homes to meet outside with friends and family.
"Continuing the lockdown trend, office supplies, fitness equipment and bicycles all performed well, thanks to strong online sales, and DIY was boosted by the opening of garden centres. However, for those shops whose doors remain shuttered, it was once again a tough month, and even those who stayed open suffered reduced footfall and huge costs implementing social distancing measures."
Lockdown measures in the UK now are slowly being lifted. The non-essential retail sector, which has been shuttered since March, will get a boost next Monday. They are finally allowed to re-open, though Dickinson predicts "weak consumer confidence and social distancing rules are likely to hold back sales".
KPMG's Head of UK Retail Paul Martin said: "As restrictions ease, retailers have much to consider during the pandemic’s recovery-phase. Stores may soon have the greenlight to re-open but it will be a gradual affair with safety front of mind, and some doors may not reopen at all. Covid-19 has acted as an accelerant in the shift towards having less of a physical presence, not least due to the obvious need to radically reduce costs for survival."
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.