Retail sales pick up in May
UK retail sales showed a small improvement in May with like-for-like sales edging up 0.5% year-on-year.
The figures released by the British Retail Consortium and KPMG in their monthly retail sales monitor show that total sales rose by 1.4% as fashion sales lifted following the arrival of spring sunshine.
Over the last three months food sales grew by 0.3% while non-food sales increased by 0.6%.
Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive, said: “Today’s figures bring better news for the UK’s retailers. After two months of flat sales May saw growth of 1.4%. While still not spectacular, it is in line with the 12-month average of 1.5%.
“Clothing made a big comeback this month after suffering declines in April. This appears to be due to consumers waiting for just the right moment before embarking on their pre-summer spending.”
Some of the best performing categories included children’s footwear and children’s clothing as parents bought items for the warmer weather and half term holidays.
Meanwhile, online sales of non-food products in the UK grew by 13.7% in May. Retailers saw positive growth in all categories while fashion sales throughout the month proved particularly popular with online shoppers. Other top performing categories included toys and baby equipment.
Online sales represented 21.2% of total non-food sales in the month.
David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, said:“Penetration rates continued to climb making May the fifth consecutive month above 20%. With a possible heatwave on the horizon, a strong multichannel business will be key to ensuring retailers can weather all weathers.”
