Archived article
Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.
UK retail sales contracted last month as consumers feel the squeeze from the country's cost-of-living crisis, the latest British Retail Consortium-KPMG retail sales monitor showed on Tuesday.
On a total basis, sales fell 1.1% in May on a year before. This compared to a surge of 28% in May 2021, though against a lockdown-marred comparison period in 2020.
May 2022's result was below the 3-month average growth of 0.7% and the 12-month average growth of 4.1%.
Further, the monitor highlighted that sales figures are not adjusted for inflation.
‘Given that both the May SPI (BRC) and April CPI (ONS) show inflation running at historically high levels, the small drop in sales masked a much larger drop in volumes once inflation is accounted for,’ the monitor said.
The latest data points to a downwards trend since the start of 2022, with January's sales growth of 12% slipping to a decline of 0.3% by April.
Like-for-like, sales fell 1.5% in May - again below the 3-month average decline of 1.1% and 12-month average growth of 1.8%.
‘Sales continued to see declines as the cost-of-living crunch squeezed consumer demand. Higher value items, such as furniture and electronics, took the biggest hit as shoppers reconsidered major purchases during this difficult time,’ said BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson.
She added: ‘It is clear the post-pandemic spending bubble has burst, with retailers facing tougher trading conditions, falling consumer confidence, and soaring inflation impacting consumers spending power.’
Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.